- Spanish players held a seven-hour meeting with the national federation on Tuesday evening.
- Discussions continued until 5 a.m., with two players deciding to leave.
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Two players left Spain’s training camp after the team held discussions with their national federation until the early hours of Wednesday morning.
New manager Montse Tome named his first squad since Spain’s World Cup victory earlier this week, but players responded by reaffirming their intention to strike following Luis Rubiales’ kiss-gate scandal last month. last.
Spanish FA president Rubiales kissed star striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the post-match presentation after Spain’s 1-0 World Cup final victory over England . After weeks of criticism for his behavior, Rubiales ultimately resigned and now faces charges of sexual assault and coercion.
Spain also sacked coach Jorge Vilda following their World Cup victory after complaints from the team about his training methods, and replaced him with Tome.
But the team was still not happy and made it clear that they did not want to represent their country until structural changes were made within the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
The players arrived on Tuesday evening for discussions with their country’s FA.
The team’s new manager, Montse Tome (center), was also present at the meeting
After a seven-hour meeting, the team decided to end its boycott, but two players decided to leave training camp, as confirmed by CSD president Victor Francos (pictured).
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The players were seen arriving on Tuesday evening for talks with the RFEF, while members of the National Sports Council (CSD) were also present at the meeting.
The meeting lasted seven hours and ended at 4:40 a.m. Wednesday morning, with the RFEF seeking to find a compromise with the players.
Of the 22 players present at the meeting, 20 agreed to stay and end their boycott, but two chose to leave training camp.
CSD president Victor Francos announced the news early Wednesday morning, and it has since been confirmed that Mapi Leon and Patri Guijarro were the two players who left.
He told reporters: “They asked to leave the concentration due to lack of enthusiasm and personal discomfort. They will communicate this and I hope that the same respect will be given to those who stay as to those who do not stay.
It emerged on Tuesday that players can be disqualified for up to five years if they refuse to represent the national team, under Spanish sports law, but players told reporters they had received assurances that they would not be punished.
Meanwhile, the RFEF spoke positively about the discussions, saying “in-depth conversations” had taken place.
It is understood a number of issues were discussed, including structural changes, the professionalism of the women’s team and ensuring the team is treated with the same respect as their male counterparts.
The FUTPRO union offered legal advice and acted as mediator during the negotiations. Union president Amanda Gutierrez suggested progress had been made, but admitted there was still work to be done after a tumultuous month for the national team.
“This is seen as a rapprochement of positions. This is the start of a long road ahead of us,” she said.
Mapi Leon (right) and Patri Guijarro (left) have been confirmed to be the two players who have left training camp, but have been assured they will not be sanctioned.
FUTPRO union president Amanda Gutierrez (pictured) admitted there was still “a long way to go”, despite 20 players agreeing to stay with the national team.
“Once again they showed consistency and the vast majority decided to make the decision to stay for the sake of this agreement.”
The 20 players who decided to stay in the Spanish training camp will now be available for Nations League matches in the coming days.
Cristina Martín-Prieto was also called up to replace the injured Esther Gonzalez and is due to join the rest of the squad on Thursday at the Oliva training camp.
Spain travel to Sweden on Friday, before hosting Switzerland next Tuesday.