5:59 v originále: „Explosion of solidarity“. Spain unites against sexism

An unsolicited kiss on a football field has sparked an outrage in Spain, putting a spotlight on abuse of women and gender bias and sexism in society. Could Spain be on the verge of a major social change?

The now suspended president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, is facing investigation for a possible sexual aggression and calls for resignation for kissing Jenni Hermoso, a member of the winning Spanish team, during a World Cup's final ceremony in Sydney nearly two weeks ago. The incident has triggered a broad response in Spain - with politicians, athletes, and the public rallying behind Hermoso.

„Everyone in Spain is talking about it and all the political parties from the far left to the far right agree for once that Rubiales should resign,“ María Ramírez, managing editor of Spanish online daily elDiario.es, told 5:59 podcast in an interview recorded on Wednesday. She says there hasn't been this much consensus in other similar cases before.

So what's different this time around? First and foremost the star power of the new world champions who upstaged highly favored England to win the coveted trophy. „When you are victorious, you are more powerful and when you speak up, you get more attention and more people listen to you,“ says Ramírez, pointing out that it's the first time that women of such prominence openly challenged mistreatment, inspiring many other women in the process and winning instant allies.

„There was really an explosion of solidarity and of people sharing their own stories of bullying and mistreatment in sports and other public sectors. So it feels like a big moment,“ says the journalist who acknowledges that change has been happening for many years now, yet the furore over the sexist behavior of the football boss gave it a new powerful impetus.

Who is Luis Rubiales and what are the chances of him weathering the storm? What other grievances against him and other men of power in Spanish football have been aired by the members of Spanish women's national team? Listen to the whole interview via the audio player at the top of the article.