Kissgate: Jenni Hermoso returns to Spain’s women’s team

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Spain’s women’s team coach has called Jenni Hermoso back to the team after initially excluding her from her pitch pieces at her installation.

The exclusion was birthed by a controversy sparked during the celebration of Spain’s women’s victory over England during the finals of the just-concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup. Former FA president to Spain, Luis Rubiales, kissed the female footballer during the prize-giving ceremony, sparking mixed reactions worldwide.

Jenni Hermoso scored 51 goals in her 11 years and made 101 appearances for her country, making herself one of the reasons for Spain’s women’s team’s past exploits. According to the former president of RFEF (Spain’s FA), Luis Rubiales, the kiss happened out of an excitement born of the nice result achieved from their World Cup campaign.

Following the disturbing intimate display led by the former president, social media users were divided over different views on the matter, with some wondering whether the two had a secret relationship before the action Luis Rubiales later claimed was consensual. The female character in the matter, Jenni Hermoso, has since refuted this, setting off confusion because of her first statement in which she admitted the opposite.

FIFA banned Luis Rubiales from officiating in Spain’s FA soon after, bringing about the former president’s resignation and the removal of the team’s coach, Jorge Vilda, from the helms of the team. The coach recently found a new job at Morocco’s FA, where he has been appointed to lead their women’s team.

Amid the backlash that followed the kiss, Jenni Hermoso sued Luis Rubiales, and the case is still being looked into in court. Rubiales has been disallowed from getting near Hermoso or contacting her through any means, but she has also been kept away from Spain’s women’s team lately by the new and first Spain’s women’s team female coach, Montse Tome, allegedly for her safety.

Two matches await the women this month, where Jenni Hermoso is likely to feature. One is against Switzerland, the other against Italy.