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Women’s National Team

"The meeting between RFEF, CSD, and the players was constructive"

Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas, on behalf of the team, express hope for "important agreements to move forward"
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Thu, 21/09/2023 - 22:06

Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas were the protagonists of the press conference on Thursday, on the eve of the match against Sweden, appearing together before the media. The questions focused on the training camp  situation and what has happened in recent days, with various meetings between the players, RFEF, and the Higher Sports Council  in order to reach agreements and have all parties work in the same direction, with the firm commitment of the Federation to implement changes.

Alexia Putellas, who was the first to speak, explained her perspective: "We had been demanding to be heard." The "unacceptable" events that took place in the World Cup final, and the subsequent General Assembly, led them to say, according to Putellas: "We couldn't continue on this path, we had to demand zero tolerance," emphasizing that Jenni Hermoso "is the only victim" and that they were going to "stand by her."

Putellas described the meeting last Monday, which "lasted until five in the morning." About this meeting, she said: "It's a point that will be a before and after. I trust that the agreements reached will make our sport, and consequently society, better," she pointed out.

 

On the other hand, Irene Paredes offered her point of view on the events and the mentioned meeting: "We made the decision to stay because we believe it is what we have to do for the agreements to move forward," she explained. "The meeting was constructive, agreements were reached that we believe are important to progress; from here, we know that some things take time, but changes are already happening," Paredes summarized.

 

Alexia Putellas reiterated that their role is not to "appoint or remove people," but to denounce attitudes that must be eradicated "from the Federation for everyone." "We have never asked for dismissal, or to appoint or remove a coach; never. All we have done is convey, as captains, concerns or concepts with which the team was not comfortable. That's not our job," she explained.

"Football is a reflection of society; and one of the reasons that drove us to continue with our complaint was that these attitudes would not occur in society," she added. "The Federation listened to us, they are investigating, and there is an ongoing judicial process; from there, it is the Federation that makes the decisions," Putellas concluded.