The lack of respect shown to Jenni Hermoso reflects dismissive attitudes to female players in Europe and beyondI was totally aghast when Luis Rubiales grabbed Jenni Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the mouth as Spain collected their World Cup winners’ medals in Sydney. Yet if it was truly shocking to see such brazen behaviour unfold on the biggest stage, that moment was also, sadly, all too typical of the way women across the world are often treated in the game’s shadows.Far too many players can tell you stories of organisations, clubs and coaches with seedy undertones. Over the years, playing in different countries, I’ve seen, heard and experienced enough not to be surprised by Rubiales’s audacity in thinking he...
Leader of the game’s world governing body would be forced to rethink chasing votes and cash if Uefa and Conmebol uniteJesper Møller, it’s fair to say, is not a natural rebel. The Danish football federation is one of the more progressive authorities, but its president is a conservative with, and let’s be kind here, a healthy sense of his own interests. Last November, though, at the height of the World Cup’s rainbow armband affair, Møller did – briefly – hint at an unexpected radicalism.Might Denmark consider quitting Fifa, he was asked, and replied: “It is not a decision that has been made now … We have been discussing it in the Nordic region since August … I have to think...
Uefa must make its showpiece event accessible as a lack of thought for wheelchair users led to a horror show in IstanbulAs a wheelchair user who attended the Champions League final in Istanbul last weekend, it was probably the worst experience I’ve ever had at a stadium. And I’ve been kettled outside Wembley with drunk fans pushing past my mum and knocking her over.When your team reach and win the Champions League final, you want to make memories from it. Unfortunately, Uefa created only nightmares. You have to question whether any thought was put in to considering the experience of disabled fans in the city during the planning process. Getting around Istanbul’s streets was difficult: dropped kerbs to help wheelchair...
The problems I experienced at the Champions League final in Istanbul made me wonder – how is Uefa so bad at this?The block across from us – full of guests of the potato chip brand Lay’s – all had their phones ready to capture the big moment. Manchester City had just defeated Internazionale to become European champions and win the treble. Fans around us cried and hugged as Ilkay Gündogan walked up to lift his third trophy in a month. This was the endpoint of a wild journey for the team that I’ve been watching since my first match in 1992. It was, as a football fan, as good as it could ever possibly get, but almost all I could...
Through its actions the ECA is intensifying the influence of Europe’s biggest clubs while disregarding the aspirational onesThe Guardian recently published an article by Charlie Marshall, the CEO of the European Club Association (ECA), headlined: “European Club Association is being cast as an evil elite killing football. What nonsense.” While I appreciate the opportunity to engage in a discussion about the future of European football, I must express my strong disagreement with Marshall’s assertions. It is imperative to set the record straight and shed light on the true nature of ECA’s actions and the distortions it has caused within the football landscape.Marshall accuses me of promoting a false narrative regarding the ECA’s influence on Uefa. However, the truth is that...