The women’s game has continued to grow over the last 12 months, and it was fitting that the two best international sides faced off in this month’s World Cup final, with Spain defeating England 1-0 in Sydney.
England head coach Sarina Wiegman picked up the UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year award after an excellent spell with the Lionesses, and she chose to dedicate her award to the La Roja players, in the wake of the controversy involving Luis Rubiales.
“We all know the issues around the Spanish team, and it really hurts me – as a coach, as a mother and as a wife. There is still a long way to go in women’s football and in society.
I would like to dedicate this award to the Spanish team. They played such great football at the World Cup. This team deserves to be celebrated and deserves to be listened to.”
"I would like to dedicate this award to Spain's women's national team"
"They deserve to be celebrated and listened to"
UEFA Women's Coach of the Year, Sarina Wiegman with a beautiful message 👏#UEFAawards pic.twitter.com/46b7ysCLKm
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 31, 2023
Aitana Bonmati, who won the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award for her efforts with Barcelona and Spain, was thankful for Wiegman’s words, and took her own shots at Rubiales, as per MD.
“I appreciate the words of Sarina Wiegman. These are not good times for Spanish football. The World Cup has not been held as it should be and I would not like to let the page pass.
“As a society, we must not allow these abuses of power and this disrespect. I’m with my teammates and Jenni Hermoso.”
Aitana Bonmatí, qué grande eres!👏👏 pic.twitter.com/wg3T59MSNE
— Marcos López (@markkylopez) August 31, 2023
Spanish football has certainly taken a huge hit over the Rubiales scandal, and rightly, there is a lot of anger, which Wiegman and Bonmati have said.
