Footage of Luis Rubiales and Jenni Hermoso from the film #SeAcabó: Diario de las campeonas
This week Netflix releases a stunning feature-long documentary in which members of the Spanish women’s team assess the impact of “The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football”.
The 94-minute film is entitled “#SeAcabó: Diario de las campeonas” (It’s Over: Diary of the champions) after the social media hashtag that trended all over the world following the unsolicited kiss from then Spanish FA President Luis Rubiales on the lips of national team forward Jenni Hermoso as she collected her medal after winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup final last year. The English version of the film is called “It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football”.
Hermoso is one of several members of the Spanish team – including Ballon D’Or winners, Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí as well as Teresa Abelleira, Ivana Andrés, Olga Carmona, Laia Codina, Lola Gallardo, Irene Paredes and Sandra Paños – who give exclusive first-hand testimony of the scandal that overshadowed what should have been the greatest night of the player’s sporting careers.
Jenni Hermoso, Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes chat during the film #SeAcabó: Diario de las … [+]
The women recount, in their own words, the torrid aftermath of the media frenzy which followed the kiss, seen live by millions of fans watching around the world. Hermoso welcomes Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes to her home to explain how she was hounded by members of the Spanish federation to corroborate Rubiales’ version of events.
The older members of the squad, including former captain Vero Boquete, then spell out the history of the national team’s history of problems with their federation dating back a decade to their time under head coach Ignacio Quereda who led the team for a staggering 27 years.
The squad’s dissatisfaction with the Spanish coaching setup came to international prominence in October 2023 when fifteen members of the national team sent an email to the federation requesting they not be selected for future games until certain improvements to their working environment were made.
Players from “las 15” who refused to join up with the Spanish national team – as well as those from the other side of the divide who continued to play under the beleaguered national team coach Jorge Vilda – speak openly in the film about the difficult decisions they had to make. Those who continued to play for Spain express their regret at not standing by their excluded team-mates.
On the eve of the Women’s World Cup last summer, satisfied that some concessions had been made by the federation and further improvements were better persued from within, several members of “las 15” made themselves available for selection once more.
Only three of those players were chosen by Vilda to go the World Cup, with long-time number one goalkeeper Sandra Paños not even considered. Another goalkeeper, Lola Gallardo, was one of four who did not shift from their original position. Both Paños and Gallardo speak about how it felt to miss the World Cup, which Spain eventually won.
In another power play by Vilda, the three former leaders of the national team – Jenni Hermoso, Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas – were replaced as national team captain by Ivana Andrés, who herself lost her place in the team during the World Cup, leaving the inexperienced Olga Carmona to captain the side in the final. Each player candidly recalls the roller-coaster of emotions they experienced during the tournament which culminated in victory over European champions England in the final, Carmona ironically scoring the only goal of the match.
In the film, the players analyse their feelings in the aftermath of becoming world champions and the behavior of the federation they represented who initially refused to take action against Rubiales. It took the threat of further stike action from the players uniting under the #SeAcabó hashtag for the public outcry to eventually bring about the suspension of Rubiales and then the dismissal of World Cup winning coach Vilda by acting RFEF President Pedro Rocha
On October 30, 2023, Luis Rubiales was banned by the Disciplinary Committee of the world governing body FIFA from all soccer-related activity for three years. He was deemed to have breached article 13 of their code governing “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play.”
In its reasoning published five weeks later, the Disciplinary Committee condemned Rubiales’ “inexcusable and unacceptable behavior” adding that “it was tempted to impose more severe sanctions in view of the seriousness and gravity of the incidents at stake as well as of the profound negative impact that the Respondents actions had on the image of FIFA, women’s football and women’s sport in general.” Debbie Hewitt, chairwoman of the English FA, gave damning testimony of how Rubiales also “forcibily kissed” Lucy Bronze after the World Cup Final before he then “cupped and stroked” the face of Laura Coombs.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 20: Luis Rubiales, President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation … [+]
The documentary is directed by Joanna Pardos who was also behind Alexia: Labor Omnia Vincit (Work Leads to Victory), the behind-the-scenes documentary series on Alexia Putellas released on Amazon Prime Video in November 2022. That was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Sports Documentary in 2023.
“It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football” premieres worldwide on Netflix from 1200 EST (0700 GMT, 0800 CET) on November 1
