“Rubiales gave us everything on a plate”

Joanna PardosNetflix documentary director #SeAcabó, Diary of Champions which was released at the beginning of the month, talks about how he saw the players during the recording and afterwards. Despite watching the team win its first women’s world title against England, Pardos knows this is a team in crisis, a group of players who have long spoken out against perceived sexism and inequality. The aftermath of Rubiales’ kiss only reinforced his opinion that this is a story that needs a wider audience and now is the time to tell it.

“The soccer players, for the first time, felt social support to dare to speak and we knew the subject in depth,” Pardos tells CNN Sport, adding how Rubiales’ now regrettable actions after the kiss forced her to film the documentary. “Rubiales gave us everything on a silver platter.” The testimonies of the players in the documentary – said Pardos – were driven by “anger, anger and also joy and pride in what they achieved.”

“The scandal in the final was the straw that broke the back of the camel’s anger, which had been building for many years. But, of course, the magnitude of the events and the fact that they happened at the moment of the greatest victory that an athlete. , like winning a World Cup, the anger of the players was released,” Pardos added to CNN.

Years of enforced silence

“The kiss is not a simple spike, as many have said; it is a show of superiority by someone who believes he is lord and master and wants to prove to the world that he is right. The players have endured years of forced silence,” said Pardos. “The idea that speaking or asking questions can affect their sports careers is firmly planted in their minds, and breaking the mantra of fear is not easy.”

After the recording, Pardos indicated that he felt the “relief of the players for having taken off a heavy burden.”