Tired of the “contempt” against women’s football, Argentine players slam the door
“For a long time, I have had enough of the contempt against women’s football” : with this message on Instagram, taken up in particular by the daily Clarin, Eliana Stábile, holder of the national selection, joined, on Tuesday May 28, three of her comrades who had resigned the day before. It is therefore an understatement to say, comments the newspaper, that “the women’s football team is going through turbulent times” in the land of world champions.
The four players, a few days before two friendly matches planned against the Costa Rica Friday May 31 and Monday June 3, launched attacks against the Argentine Football Federation. Eliana Stábile hammered home:
“We want to be valued at our true value, let’s hope that the next generation will not experience what we are experiencing.”
Another of the four internationals, Julieta Cruz, who, like her three colleagues, came from Boca Juniors, the only fully professional club in the women’s championship, said when resigning: “There comes a time when injustices tire you: not being heard or, even worse, being humiliated.”
“Making us look like idiots”
Lorena Benítez declared: “I decided not to participate in the decline.” The sports daily Olé relates : “She harshly criticized the lack of professionalism (of the federation), specifying in particular that, during certain training days, the players did not receive breakfast or lunch. (…) She also revealed that the matches were not compensated by the Argentine federation, even when they were scheduled by Fifa” – the international federation. The player added:
“The answer is always the same: ‘There is no money’.”
“During this timeshe continued, our family members have to pay 5,000 pesos (5.2 euros) to enter the stadium… There are millions of little things like that, to make us look like idiots.”
The federation denied these accusations while admitting certain “exceptional facts” And, asserts Olé in this other article, “began self-criticism”. “In any case, she showed her double face, written from Buenos Aires the site El País América, on the one hand she multiplies juicy contracts thanks to her title won at Qatar in 2022on the other she is singled out for not paying her players anything, not even lunch.”
