The 20 Spain players called up by new Manager Montse Tome that had signed an agreement saying they would not return until substantial changes were made at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). They risk facing lengthy bans in order to do so.
Tome called up 15 of the 23-woman World Cup-winning squad, and five more of the 39 players that signed that agreement. On Monday evening those players included put out a statement saying they regretted Tome’s decision, and being put in an uncomfortable position by the RFEF.
— Aitana Bonmatí Conca (@AitanaBonmati) September 18, 2023
The Spain squad have made five key demands from the RFEF, which so far have not been accomplished. This follows on from the 15 players that went on strike last year. If they are not present, they could well have faced fines and even bans, but Spain did not submit their squad list in time for those players to be punished.
It appears that the RFEF and Spain will have to make further changes if they want to bring those players back into the fold. There is also the risk that Spain miss out on the Paris Olympics next summer with a poor performance, but it appears those players are willing to stand for their demands regardless.
Full Statement:
The Players of the senior women’s football team want to express, following the call-up and the subsequent press conference of the new national team coach, Montse Tome, the following:
What was expressed in our statement of September 15, 2023, makes clear and without any option for another interpretation our firm desire not to be called up for justified reasons. These statements are still fully valid. During the days following that statement, we want to make it known to the public that nothing different has been transmitted to any member of the RFEF, so we expressly ask that the information transmitted publicly be rigorous.
We as elite professional players and after everything that happened today, we will study the possible legal consequences to which the RFEF exposes us by putting us on a list from which we had asked not to be called for reasons already explained publicly and in more detail to the RFEF, and thereby make the best decision for our future and for our health.
It does seem relevant to us to point out, in this sense, that the call has not been made in a timely manner, in accordance with art. 3.2 of Annex I of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of FIFA Players, so we understand that the REF is not in a position to require us to attend.
We regret once again that our Federation places us in a situation that we would never have wanted.
