The AFE denounces the discriminatory treatment of Barça and Real Sociedad players by the RFEF
The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) denounced this Monday an “expensive discrimination” against the players of FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad, finalists of the Spanish Super Cup and “underestimated at the time of collecting the medals of champions and runners-up,” according to a statement.
“With this statement, the Association of Spanish Footballers wants to denounce what happened in the final of the Spanish Women’s Super Cup, played in Mérida, in which, among others, the footballers, brilliant champions of the tournament and of Real Sociedad, were belittled things, while collecting the medals of champions and runners-up,” said AFE.
The body chaired by David Aganzo reiterated that the players of both teams were “clearly undervalued by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF)”, which did not recognize the players “as they deserve”.
And it is that this Sunday, the members of the selection of Barça and Real Sociedad had to hang the medals themselves. Something the RFEF explained by referring to a protocol required by the facilities, the same protocol that was implemented last year and in the Copa del Rey.
“In accordance with the RFEF awarding protocols and taking into account both the large number of institutional representatives and the infrastructure for accessing the box from the stadium grass, the Protocol department has decided to organize the award ceremony in the box in the same way as in the Copa del Rey: Handing over the cup to the captain of the champion team and handing over medals to the winning team on the field/dressing room,” the RFEF said in a statement.
The federation was criticized for a video that went viral on social networks, showing the Barça players, champions at the Romano José Fouto de Mérida after a 0-3 defeat against Real Sociedad, throwing the medals from the suitcases on top of a table and hang them together. “This is the same awards ceremony that took place during the last edition of the Women’s Super Cup in 2022,” the RFEF added.
Therefore, in its statement, AFE recalled that in the same men’s tournament held in Saudi Arabia a few days ago, the players “were recognized as they deserve for their participation in the Super Cup final, with the RFEF president awarding the medals at the same field. of play.”
“In Mérida, the FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad players did not receive the same treatment, as they suffered clear discrimination against their teammates, leaving a regrettable image to remember that cannot be repeated,” the note criticized.
A “discrimination” that AFE also sees in the media made available to the participating teams in both competitions. “VAR was implemented in the men’s Super Cup, which was not done in the women’s,” he said.
«AFE understands that the institutions, the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Higher Sports Council, cannot and should not ignore these types of events, when the new sports law, in which AFE has worked on various and important issues, considers basic aspects to promote fair equality between men and women. promoting women,” he warned of equality, including in sport, as an “essential issue to create a more just society.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
