The gulf of quality between the presentation of the men’s Supercup and the women’s was massive and Luis Rubiales admits it
Barcelona won two Supercups in one month, one for the men’s team and one for the women’s. While the men’s team celebrated the trophy in a glorious ceremony in Saudi Arabia, the women’s ceremony and final in general were a lot less ceremonious.
Rubiales admits mistakes like that could ‘bury you’
RFEF president Luis Rubiales was heavily criticized for the two wildly different standards set for men’s and women’s football. He has come to accept the criticism, admitting that it was indeed “a tremendous s***show”.
“In terms of image, it was disastrous. I told the protocol person that it was awful. When the trophy delivery begins, it was said that it will be done the same as for the boys. Five days before the male one was delivered and compared with the women’s one. With the sensitivity that exists, that image buries you. Neither girls nor boys have to do it. It was a tremendous s***show. I said that this should not happen again.” Rubiales admitted to Relevo.
“I have absorbed the blow and I accept it. We came in with 44,000 women’s licenses [registered players] and now there are 100,000. [But] An image like that buries you. I endured the downpour for a week. The protocol department made a mistake. What happened was explained.”
Despite him admitting his mistake, Rubiales didn’t talk about changing the venue for the women’s final. The game was held in Merida (Extremadura) which isn’t a ground that inspires grandeur all that much.
