‘It was overshadowed by one man’s stupidity’ – England’s Lucy Bronze on the 2023 Women’s World Cup final

December 28, 2023 Sports 1 Views

What should have been a cause for celebration for Spain and women’s football as a whole was soured by the controversial kissing incident that stole the headlines after the 2023 Women’s World Cup, England’s Lucy Bronze told FourFourTwo.

Spain clinched their first major tournament crown after beating the Lionesses 1-0 in the final in Australia.

It was an event that transcended the women’s game like few before it and carried on the momentum built by England’s victory in Euro 2022, but it was immediately marred after former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales kissed forward Jenni Hermoso during the post-match celebration without her consent.

Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales kisses Spain's Jenni Hermoso after the team's win over England in the Women's World Cup final in Sydney in August 2023. — Luis Rubiales forced a kiss on Jennifer Hermoso (Image credit: Getty Images)

Rubiales has since resigned from his post and been banned from all football-related activities for three years by FIFA, but the impact of the incident is still being felt. Bronze, who plays for Spanish giants Barcelona, admitted she knows more about the situation than most and couldn’t hide her “disappointment” at how things transpired.

“I think I’m probably the most ‘inside-outside’ person with that – I probably know a lot more about it than people on the outside, being so close to so many of the Spanish players and having so many of them in the locker room, talking about the situation,” Bronze said in an interview for FourFourTwo magazine.

“For me, it’s just disappointing and sad that it happened; that Spain won the World Cup for the first time and it felt like it was overshadowed by one man’s stupidity.

“There were 23 players who put in so much work and it didn’t seem like their achievements were celebrated like they should have been.

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Lucy Bronze plays her club football in Spain (Image credit: Getty Images)

“For Jenni, it was probably the worst. She was arguably one of the best players at the World Cup, and one of the reasons Spain were so good, and then she was having to deal with disappointment rather than being able to celebrate something that she worked so hard for.

“It’s been a long time coming for her – she’s been such an amazing player – and this is going to overshadow her career. But hopefully she and Spain can move forward to better things again.”

After Spain’s World Cup heroics in Australia, Hermoso has been nominated for FIFA’s The Best Women’s Player of the Year.