Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
María Ramírez

#MeToo exposed the abuse of women in Spain. It took football and #SeAcabó to spark a revolution

Fans with banners supporting Jenni Hermoso at a Women’s Cup match in Alcala de Henares, Spain, 26 August 2023
Fans with banners supporting Jenni Hermoso at a Women’s Cup match in Alcala de Henares, Spain, 26 August 2023. Photograph: Reuters

“Se acabó” (in Spanish, “it’s over”). Those words were used by Alexia Putellas and other Fifa Women’s World Cup champions on social media just before all of them announced they would not return to play for the national team if the current leadership remained in place. By Sunday night, #SeAcabó was on the jerseys of Sevilla men’s football team and was a hashtag used by the UN, Spain’s government and athletes around the world to show support for the Spanish team. #SeAcabó was also used by women speaking up about abuse and bullying they have experienced.

Football players, politicians, singers and ordinary people showed solidarity with Jenni Hermoso, the star forward who received an unwanted kiss on the lips from her boss, the head of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, during the World Cup trophy ceremony. As Hermoso put it, it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.