Amidst the uproar surrounding Luis Rubiales’s kiss on her lips during the World Cup trophy presentation, Jenni Hermoso claimed to have “received threats”.
Hermoso claims the kiss was not consenting to happen, and it happened after the forward for Spain helped her team defeat England in the August final.
After the incident caused a stir, Rubiales resigned as head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
“These weeks have been very difficult,” Hermoso stated to the Spanish edition of GQ magazine.
“I was really aching from having to explain it over and over again. But I’m aware that I have to let it go in some way.
“I have been working on it with the assistance of my long-term psychologist.”
“For me, getting enough sleep and exercising every day are just as crucial as maintaining my mental health in order to perform well on the field. She has made me feel powerful and has kept me from feeling defeated or considering giving up on football. I’m still as enthusiastic as ever.”
Rubiales filed a legal complaint, following which she was prohibited from entering Hermoso for 200 meters.
The former president of the federation denied forcing and sexually abusing Hermoso in a Madrid court proceeding.
Fifa has also imposed a three-year ban on Rubiales from all football-related activity.
Hermoso continued, saying, “I’ve got to live with the repercussions of an act that I didn’t choose or plan, nor did I provoke.
“I have received threats, and that is something you never get used to.”
As part of the criminal investigation against Rubiales, Jorge Vilda, the manager of Spain that won the World Cup, was fired in September. Since then, he has been named Morocco’s women’s national team manager.
The kiss that rocked Spanish football and the world
Hermoso claims Rubiales’ World Cup kiss damaged her reputation.
When Montse Tome took over as the new manager of Spain in September, she claimed that she did it in order to “protect” Hermoso by keeping him out of Nations League games.
The 33-year-old was then included in the team for the October Nations League matches against Italy and Switzerland.
Hermoso replaced Italy in the 68th minute and scored the game-winning goal in the 89th to cap off her comeback.
The hashtag #SeAcabo, which means “It’s over” and was created in favor of Hermoso in response to Rubiales’ actions, mocking the sexism that others perceived the episode to represent.
When asked how she wished to be remembered, Hermoso replied, “I want to be known as someone who tried to change many attitudes above all as someone who has wanted to leave Spain at the top.”
“This is a true story, for better or worse. I’m going to learn how to use technology to my advantage in order to advocate for social causes that I think are right. A new age must be ushered in by the #SeAcabo campaign.
“With everything that has transpired over the past few months, my thoughts have strayed slightly from football. There were moments when I forgot I was a football player. However, I put on my uniform, get out to the training field, and want to give it my all once more.”