It took football and #SeAcabó to spark a revolution

The furore over Jenni Hermoso enduring that unwanted kiss after our World Cup victory has opened eyes to misogyny as never before, writes María Ramírez

A protest organiser speaks to the media during a demonstration called by feminist associations in support of Spain's player Jenni Hermoso, at Callao square in Madrid. Picture: Getty Images

“Se acabó” (in Spanish, “it’s over”). Those words were used by Alexia Putellas and other Fifa Women’s World Cup champions on social media just before all of them announced they would not return to play for the national team if the current leadership remained in place. By Sunday night, #SeAcabó was on the jerseys of Sevilla men’s football team and was a hashtag used by the UN, Spain’s government and athletes around the world to show support for the Spanish team. #SeAcabó was also used by women speaking up about abuse and bullying they have experienced.

Football players, politicians, singers, and ordinary people showed solidarity with Jenni Hermoso, the star forward who received an unwanted kiss on the lips from her boss, the head of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, during the World Cup trophy ceremony. As Hermoso put it, it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.