LUCY BRONZE praised the ‘incredible’ bravery of Spain international players who were involved in the case brought against Luis Rubiales.
The ex-Spanish football federation chief was found guilty of kissing forward Jenni Hermoso without her consent following Spain winning the Women’s World Cup in August 2023.
Earlier Today Rubiales was convicted of sexual assault after kissing Hermoso on the lips.
The incident happened as she celebrated her team’s 1-0 defeat of England in the tournament’s final in Sydney.
It marred the triumph for Spain’s players and the forward, who is currently her national side’s record goal scorer.
It aslo prompted an international outcry across the sport with the Spanish FA issuing a public apology.
After being found guilty of sexual assault Rubiales was fined £8935 (EUROS 10,800), but was acquitted of a charge of coercion after being accused pressuring the player to downplay the incident.
The conviction came a year and five months after he resigned as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas, Bronze’s team-mates at Barcelona and Arsenal’s Laia Codina appeared at the trial to give testimonies in support of Hermoso
Speaking shortly ahead of the verdict reached by Spain’s High Court, Bronze, who played at Barcelona for two years from June 2022 said: I am good friends with a lot of the players involved around it.
“From my point of view it’s been incredibly brave that these players have had to go through that.
“It’s incredibly brave, as individuals and as a team collectively they’re fighting for change, not just in that court case but in their federation.
“It’s amazing. As an England team we’ve made changes, not for the same reasons, but we stand by them.
“During my last year at Barcelona, watching their ordeals after the World Cup, I think it was challenging for them.
“It would be nice for them to get back to their football and focusing on that because they are incredible people and unbelievable players as well.”
Bronze and her England team-mates will play Spain in the Women’s Nations League on February 26 five days after taking on Portugal.
Both matches and the verdict of the Rubiales case come in a month in which female athletes’ safety and abuse directed at female footballers has been in the spotlight.
On Sunday Manchester City’s Khadija Bunny Shaw gave a Black Power salute after scoring during her side’s 4-0 win against Liverpool in the WSL.
The Jamaica striker was the target of racist and misogynistic abuse following the Cityzens’ 4-3 loss to Arsenal in the Women’s League Cup on February 6.
Shaw’s club and a Man City fan group said they were appalled by the “disgusting treatment” of the player who finished last season as the WSL’s top goalscorer.
And England and Chelsea’s Millie Bright spoke out against a fan directing expletive-laden insults at her during the Blues’ 1-0 away win at Aston Villa earlier this month.
Bronze, who has spoken out on a range of issues facing players in the women’s game, insists it’s important female athletes can use their platforms to push for change and empower each other.
The right-back, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona last July, said: “Everyone is using their platform to make change and to try and be positive and to do the right things.
“That is something that is special about women’s sport in general. We all have each other’s backs and try to empower each other.
“Sadly there is that negative side to sport in general but we are trying to make change.
“We want the world to be a better place, the sports that we play to be better places.
“We want to be safe, we want to bring joy and excitement and that is why we all play the sport.
“To use our platforms to push those things forward and make change for little boys and girls, that is something we hold really dear to our hearts.”
