England star Georgia Stanway insists the resignation of Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has to be “the start of something, not the end of something”.
Rubiales finally announced he was quitting as president of the RFEF on Sunday night, three weeks after he kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the World Cup final trophy presentation in Sydney.
Hermoso later said she had not consented to the kiss, but Rubiales has spent the last three weeks standing firm in saying he would not quit over the incident despite the opening of disciplinary proceedings by football’s world governing body FIFA and the instigation of a criminal complaint in the Spanish courts.
Stanway was part of the England team beaten by Hermoso and her team-mates in Sydney, and hopes the controversy over how this matter has been handled has a wider impact than just being the eventual trigger for Rubiales’ exit.
“Everybody’s fought and we fought as a women’s football group,” Stanway said.
“We fought as players, we’ve fought as staff, we’ve fought as journalists for the outcome to be what it is.
“Obviously, the outcome is what we want. But at the same time, we want this to be the start of something, rather than the end of something.
“We want to continue to be able to have these conversations, to feel comfortable to have these conversations, feel comfortable in your workplace, to be able to stand up for whatever you think is right.”
Rubiales had told an RFEF emergency general assembly on August 25 that he would not quit his post, but was provisionally suspended by FIFA the following day pending an investigation into his conduct.
As well as kissing Hermoso, Rubiales was also pictured grabbing his groin in celebration of the World Cup win while standing metres from Spain’s Queen Letizia and her teenage daughter.
Rubiales posted on the social media platform X on Sunday night: “After the rapid suspension carried out by FIFA, plus the rest of proceedings open against me, it is evident that I will not be able to return to my position.
“Insisting on waiting and holding on is not going to contribute to anything positive, neither to the federation nor to Spanish football.
“I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my power to prevail.
“My daughters, my family and the people who love me have suffered the effects of excessive persecution, as well as many falsehoods, but it is also true that on the street, more and more every day, the truth is prevailing.”
Rubiales has also done an interview with chat show host Piers Morgan concerning the matter, which is due to air on Tuesday evening.
There has been no public statement yet from Hermoso, nor from the rest of the Spain squad who had said they would not represent their country while Rubiales remained in post.
Spain are due to play Sweden and Switzerland in the Nations League on September 22 and 26.
Kjaer to leave Milan at end of season
Milan defender Simon Kjaer will leave the Serie A club at the end of the current campaign, he announced on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Denmark captain arrived at the San Siro in January 2020 on loan from Sevilla before signing a permanent deal at the end of that season.
In a video shared on Milan's page on the social media platform X, Kjaer said: "This is my club. It's my place. It always will be.
"My time here was the pride and dream that gave me great joy and a lot of satisfaction in my career and life.
Kjaer played 120 matches for the club and won the Serie A title in 2022, but has struggled with injuries this season, managing just 24 appearances in all competitions.
Pochettino leaves Chelsea after one season
Mauricio Pochettino will leave Chelsea by mutual consent after one season in charge, the club announced on Tuesday.
Despite a poor start to the season, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish, confirming a European place - an improvement on their 12th-place finish in 2022-23.
He also led them to the EFL Cup final and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Speculation surrounded Pochettino's position during the latter stages of the Premier League campaign, though he remained tight-lipped about his future.
The Argentinian had one year left on his contract but now leaves the club with immediate effect.
In a club statement, Pochettino said: "Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club's history.
"The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come."
Sporting Directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: "On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season.
"He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time, and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career."
Alonso wants to write more history with Leverkusen in Europa League final
Xabi Alonso is hopeful that his Bayer Leverkusen side can make more history in their Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Leverkusen became the first side in Bundesliga history to go unbeaten in a single season on their way to the top-flight title, and across all competitions, they have not lost any of their last 51 matches.
Now, they have the opportunity to complete an unbeaten treble if they can get past Atalanta before taking on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday.
Only three sides have previously won the competition without losing a game – Chelsea in 2018-19, Villarreal in 2020-21 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22, with Leverkusen looking to be added to that list.
Alonso is taking charge of his first European final as a manager and highlights the ambition the club have to do something significant.
"It would mean a lot, a lot to me [to win a European trophy]," he told UEFA. "To be able to share it with the people from the club, with the fans.
"You see what it meant when we won the Bundesliga. To be able to win a European title after so many years since we won [the UEFA Cup in 1988] would be historic, and we want to do that, to have a historic season.
"It would be something written in golden letters, not only in the history of our club but probably all European football. I hope we can."
Like his counterpart, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini is also taking charge of a European final for the first time in his career.
The Italian side clinched a top-five finish in Serie A with their win over Lecce on Saturday and are looking to win their first major trophy in 61 years.
Looking back on the season, Gasperini says he is proud of the work his side have done to make it through to the club's first European final.
"It feels good," Gasperini said. "It's a great achievement and source of satisfaction, achieved with a really good season from this whole team.
"Is it the highest point of my career? Yes, in terms of accomplishment and prestige, absolutely. In terms of gratification, fortunately, I've had quite a few, although perhaps not on the same level.
"This team always wanted it. Sometimes, you get teams who are good technically but lacking in determination and hunger.
"From the start, from the group stage, since we played in Lisbon, in a group where we were not the favourites – Sporting [CP] were the favourites – we played great matches against strong opponents. Of course, winning at Anfield boosted our confidence even more."
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