"You have the power to convince us men"
You've come a long way, baby...but possession of a penis is still the price of admission to full equality
I say to all the women -- and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home -- that you have the power to change," he said, addressing the audience. Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don't have to do. Just do it. With men, with FIFA, you'll find open doors. Just push the doors.
Gianni Infantino, FIFA Chief Poohbah
With the recent conclusion of the Women’s World Cup (WWC) soccer tournament, we now return to our previously scheduled misogyny and discrimination against women.
Well, it’s not like any of that stopped. For a month, though, the world was allowed to falsely believe that women had achieved something approaching equality- at least when it came to soccer. In the end, even that was a mirage because many national football federations still treat their national women’s team like hired help.
Or worse.
All of the good feelings that the WWC had created were trashed by a speech given by the President of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body. Not known for its progressive nature, FIFA is controlled by wealthy Conservative men who lack any incentive to change the current order. Infantino may or may not be the worst offender, but he’s undoubtedly the most shameless.
In his speech, in which I suspect he felt he was being quite expansive toward women, he came off as highly condescending. Gianni Infantino is uno stronzo fiammeggiante and not exactly a shining champion of gender equity.
“You have the power to convince us men.” Seriously? Why would it be left to women to convince men they deserve to be treated on par with men? That should be the baseline, not a matter of debate, yet Infantino sounds like he and the other FIFA higher-ups need convincing.
Why shouldn’t we be on top? We have a penis!
This is what happens when men, convinced of their superiority, are the ones calling the shots.
Former Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg led the backlash against Gianni Infantino on Friday after the FIFA president said women need to "pick the right battles" and "convince men" to enforce change.
The Norway and Lyon striker responded to Infantino on X (formerly Twitter) after his speech, which came ahead of Sunday's Women's World Cup final between England and Spain in Sydney.
She wrote ironically: "Working on a little presentation to convince men. Who's in?"
Infantino had earlier hit back at critics at the FIFA Women's Football Convention, saying that expanding the tournament to 32 teams has turned out to be a success and that "FIFA was right" to do so.
Hey, Gianni…could you be any more condescending?
Asking for a friend….
(I hope Ms. Hegerberg’s “presentation” incorporates a few swift kicks to Infantino’s piccoli testicoli.)
The record $110 million (£86.1m) for this World Cup is well short of the $440m (£346m) on offer to teams at last year's men's event in Qatar, but Infantino said equal pay would not provide a quick fix.
"Equal pay at the World Cup? We are going in that direction already," he added. "But that would not solve anything. It might be a symbol, but it would not solve anything, because it's one month every four years and it's a few players out of the thousands and thousands of players.
No, equal pay wouldn’t provide a quick fix because the problems within the international women’s game run far deeper than pay equity on the World Cup level. However, equal pay would be a great place to begin, and it would send a message that FIFA values the women’s game. Paying women’s teams at the WWC 25% of what the men’s teams made last year in Qatar is a glaring and frankly offensive inequity that must be addressed.
That’s if FIFA wishes to be taken seriously, of course.
This year’s tournament was the best, most exciting, and most competitive from top to bottom in the relatively short history of the WWC. Seven of the eight teams that made the quarterfinals had a legitimate shot at winning. The eighth- Colombia- wasn’t far off that level. Even IF the USWNT had made it that far, they would’ve struggled to beat England or Spain.
The England-Spain final was well-played, entertaining, and a joy to watch. I found myself watching the game and occasionally forgetting I was watching women play, not men. It was just soccer- high quality, high tempo, technically proficient end-to-end action. The quality of goalkeeping was far superior to any other WWC tournament.
There’s no argument to be made for paying women playing in the WWC 25% of what men earned in Qatar last year. That inequity could and should, be quickly addressed and resolved. FIFA leadership must show the resolve and commitment to do so, but thus far, there have been words and little else. The overwhelming male leadership of FIFA had felt no pressure to change. Until they do, nothing will.
Unfortunately, the biggest problems for women’s soccer aren’t what’s seen and publicized at the WWC. The most significant concerns remain what happens at the national federation level. Even Spain, the new world champion, has experienced a player rebellion that was met by intransigence on the part of their national federation. Canada has experienced similar issues. Even the USWNT had to raise Hell to achieve pay equity with the men’s team.
And it’s not just pay. It’s investments in facilities, travel, and everything that goes along with training and maintaining a national team. The things men’s national teams get because…well, they’re men…women’s teams have had to beg and plead for. That continues in many countries as women’s national teams train in second-class facilities and are in every way made to feel less important than their country’s men’s team.
And even in their moment of victory, the Spanish women were subjected to some genuinely crude male behavior by Spanish Federation President Luis Rubiales.
Spanish Federation President Luis Rubiales grabs his crotch in the moment of Spanish victory in the VVIP Section, where he was seated besides members of the Spanish Royal Family. He would proceed to kiss Jenni Hermoso on the mouth during the trophy presentation. Hermoso later admitted "I did not enjoy that." This is the man who backed Spanish coach Vilda against the pleas of the Spanish players. Football, which is capable of making us feel so alive, constantly reveals itself to be run by men of the most craven, corrupt, base lack of value. Why is there always such darkness at the heart of the game we all love? 🇪🇸💔
Until men are brought up to revere women instead of viewing them as trophies, as sexual objects to be conquered and then tossed aside, this sort of trash will continue landing in positions of prominence.
Rubiales is the reason the Spanish coach was allowed to continue in his position when the players were pleading for a change in leadership. He undoubtedly feels vindicated and has been even more overbearing and insufferable in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding his behavior.
Women deserve better than unscrupulous chickenshit predators like Rubiales and others like him sprinkled liberally throughout the women’s game worldwide. Sadly, it seems unlikely that such change will occur anytime soon.
Rubiales is merely the tip of the iceberg. Far worse occurs in remote corners of the world that we never hear about, which is frightening. FIFA should protect women playing the game, not tacitly enable men who prey on them and use their positions of power to abuse and silence them.
Women deserve far better.
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I was astonished the player didn't knee him in the jewels like she was kicking a goal from the other side of the field. But I do understand being so completely caught off guard that you're at a loss for words or actions.