Ella Toone has said that England’s Lionesses “all stand behind Jennifer Hermoso” with Luis Rubiales still yet to resign after kissing the Spain midfielder without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final.
The president of the Spanish football association (RFEF) has refused to step down from his role after the incident during the medal ceremony that followed Spain’s triumph ver England in Australia.
Rubiales, who was also criticised for grabbing his crotch during the final, had been expected to resign last week, but declined to do so at an extraordinary press conference.
The saga took another bizarre turn on Monday after the 46-year-old’s mother locked herself inside a church and went on hunger strike, describing the reaction to her son’s behaviour as “an inhuman, bloodthirsty witch hunt”.
Manchester United’s Toone, who was part of the Lionesses side beaten in Sydney, believes that Rubiales’s actions and the subsequent outcry have overshadowed Spain’s first Women’s World Cup win.
“Spain were unbelievable throughout the tournament and they’ve won the World Cup which should be the main talking point,” Toone said to BBC Breakfast.
“Yet it’s overshadowed by something which happened after the game which isn’t acceptable. The Lionesses all stand by Jennifer Hermoso.
“A couple of the girls, the leaders in the squad, got together and brought a statement that we all believe in and to show our support and solidarity, to show we’re thinking of Hermoso and show we want the right thing to be done.
“It doesn’t just go away with a sorry - which he hasn’t said either. We should be talking about the success of the World Cup and how much we’ve inspired the next generation. Hopefully the right thing is done.”
The regional chiefs of the RFEF have now called for the organisation’s president to resign, while Rubiales has been provisionally suspended from all footballing activities for 90 days by Fifa.
