Spanish national team: “No one has explained to me why I was fired from the Federation”

Lor that it was going to be a catharsis in the Real Federacin Espaola of football because of Rubiales case It was left with a few layoffs. The most mediatic was that of Pablo García Cuervo (Pravia, September 17, 1981), a familiar face for those who follow the team. She was his press officer from the 2018 World Cup until September 27. Three months later, with an open court battle, she has decided to break her silence and talk to MARCA about what happened after the Women’s World Cup, the days that shook Spanish football and took her out of the Federation.

ASK. Three months have passed. Today, December 29, is it clear why he was fired?

ANSWER. The truth is that when they told me about it they told me that they had no explanation and that they could only regret it. Faced with such a strange situation, I called the president of the management company, with whom I always had a good relationship. He told me to explain it to me in person and that I would understand.

P. Do you mean it?

A. He never called me. To this day, no one has given me an explanation as to why I was fired.

Q. Who and how does he inform you of the dismissal?

A. It is the last Friday of September and they tell me to go up to the Presidential Office, where I had worked so many hours. There were the two executive people who rule the federation. They tell me that they do not agree and that they regret it but that it is not up to them. They encourage me to fight for my rights.

When I say goodbye, they tell me that they do not share it and encourage me to fight for my rights.

Q. Are you afraid of it?

A. The previous day in the afternoon I had been ratified in my position by the Chief of Staff.

Q. It is obvious that everything has to do with what happened when you returned from Australia. What happened on that return?

A. It was a very confusing and tense situation. At first, Rubiales did not give the dimension of the problem and the consequences it could entail. When politics intervened, the case became uncontrollable.

Rubiales did not give the case the importance it had. When politics intervened it became uncontrollable

Q. Did the players ask for his head?

A. I am aware of what the media published because from within I was never told anything about it. My relationship with them was always good and we spent almost three weeks together at the World Cup. During my management, we multiplied the visibility of women’s soccer with coverage never before known. We offered live press conferences and training sessions, we promoted all content and the digital environment, we promoted competitions with the same identity and coverage as the men’s competitions. We decided that there would be the same professionals with the women’s team as with the men’s team, we decided to show the U23 matches live through our channels… Never in history has a communication department in the RFEF done more for equality in the football and for promoting the women’s sections.

Q. Did Jenny Hermoso give you the go-ahead to say that nothing serious was happening?

R. Hermoso made some statements at COPE removing the issue. Like everyone, he understood that the focus should be on collective success. With that basis and with the aim of stopping a controversy that was getting worse and worse, we proposed distributing some of his statements.

Q. What was that moment like, what did they propose to you?

A. It was at the Hermoso entrance at the Sydney Airport Terminal, when the team bus arrived. We explained the situation to her and proposed a text that she first read to her and later she reviewed taking my cell phone. She authorized us to publish it on the condition that it would be the last thing she would say on that issue. She said all this in the presence of two other people, two employees of the federation who are witnesses of that moment. Besides, I wanted them to be present for what could happen. If Hermoso ever said no, as happened later with Rubiales when he asked him to make a joint video, that statement would never have come out. We are a serious and professional department and if Hermoso later regretted giving the OK, it is his problem and the attention he has paid to the pressures he may have received. What it cannot do is tarnish professionals who have always acted from the most basic framework of ethics.

Jenny Hermoso authorized the text with the condition that it would be the last thing she would say on that issue.

Q. What do you think is going to ring the bells on TVE?

R. Aitana Bonmati is the best player in the world today, she has won the Ballon d’Or and has won The Best In 2023, he is the greatest personality in football today. If what TVE wants is to truly support women’s football, it is even easier: it can buy the rights to League F and show one or two live matches every weekend.

If TVE really wants to support women’s football, it’s even easier: you can buy the rights to League F and show one or two live matches every weekend.

Q. Do you feel like a victim of Luis Rubiales?

A. I don’t feel that way. I think that, unfortunately, Luis Rubiales has been a victim of himself. Too many shotguns were waiting for him and any mistake was going to be very expensive. I think the reaction to what happened in Sydney cannot be understood without the context of what happened before reaching that World Cup. What fans expect from leaders is common sense and a conciliatory spirit.

Too many shotguns were waiting for Rubiales

Q. Do you have a relationship with him?

A. No, but that does not mean that I have forgotten. I spent very important moments in my life by his side and we saved very difficult situations together. I went out of my way to help the RFEF. For me, one of the most important values ​​in life is gratitude and he believed in my ability to be press officer first and communications director later.

Q. What were the hours like before the mock assembly, before the applause?

A. It was a very complicated week but, in short, his closest team, we dedicated ourselves to convincing him that he had to resign. When you have lost the game, it is very important not to make things worse and we knew that it could end very badly if the appropriate steps were not taken. On Thursday afternoon he informed us that the next day he was going to resign and a great feeling of relief invaded us. The Chief of Staff communicates it to Vctor Francos and soon it is leaked to the media. He knew that this could have consequences.

Q. As communication director of the RFEF, are you responsible for the communication strategy of the Rubiales case?

A. Not only did we have nothing to do with it, but we radically positioned ourselves against the suicidal steps that were being taken. I am not one to ignore the problem, I never hide and I assume my responsibilities but you ask me and I answer the truth. I think that as a result of desperation, decisions were made without listening to anyone and that irresponsibility ended as we all know.

We positioned ourselves radically against the suicidal steps that were being taken

Q. So, is it true that you were against it and that you tried to stop Rubiales’ statements in the RFEF?

Q. I said that if they wanted they could fire me the next day, but that under my responsibility those statements were not going to be uploaded to the website. We were employees of the RFEF and the institution’s resources were being exploited. They were very hard and very sad days after more than five years fighting to build the Federation.

I said that if they wanted they could fire me the next day but that under my responsibility those statements were not going to be uploaded to the website.

Q. And why were they published?

A. They started calling editors and found people who acted above the opinion of the area managers. It was a flight forward.

Q. Why was the second statement published so briefly?

A. Because I told Rocha to remove it. I tried to help him in everything I could.

Q. What did you think when you heard Rubiales say that he was not leaving?

A. That he had immolated himself and that the shock wave was going to reach many of us who were present there and we did not know what was going to happen before the Assembly began.

When Rubiales heard “I’m not going to resign” I thought he had immolated himself and that the shock wave was going to reach many of us who were present there.

Q. Do you think that you have been betrayed from within, that there has been a constant hunt for internal battles?

A. Each one knows what they did and go on their conscience. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not going to judge anyone. I can only give thanks for having met wonderful people and great professionals. I have left without hard feelings, with a very clear conscience and with the satisfaction of having made many friends.

Q. The players asked you to continue. Several made it clear in public and private.

A. It was an incredible reaction that I did not expect. In the middle of the storm, Morata called me to tell me on behalf of the captains and the team that they were going to call the president of the management company to inform him that the players were with me, that they wanted me with them and that they were going to ask for my continuity. It is a gesture that will never be forgotten.

The reaction of the players when they found out that they were firing me was incredible. Never forget it

Q. How many called you?

A. Many. And the truth is that I was surprised by the affection of many of them. Players who during these more than five years only came once or twice and who call you to encourage you and thank you for the moments we lived together left me broken because I did not expect a reaction like that. I’ll stick with that, which means more to me than any title or recognition.

Q. UEFA unleashed the work of its department in the last Euro Cup… What did it leave as a legacy?

A. We have had various internal recognitions from UEFA and FIFA and that gave us strength to continue improving. It is true that our communication policy was recognized internationally for the way we approached the concentrations and the final phases. For the service and attention to the media and for achieving the most complicated thing for me, that coaches, players and the media were happy and comfortable with our way of working. That was our great triumph.

Q. Do you regret anything?

A. All the decisions I made were with the best of intentions and I believe the results are there. I am not a politician, I am a professional who only sought the good of the Federation and not my own. I tried to be fair in my decisions, above pleasing third parties who observed every movement with great personal interest.

Q. I testified as a witness to the pressure on the women’s press officer. Were there any?

A. If there were, I did not see them. What did exist was an anomalous situation in her statement to Integrity and I made that clear in my statement at the Hearing and I had previously told her so in order to be able to help her. The press officer was one of the two witnesses to how Hermoso gave the OK to the statement in Sydney, as she also reflected in her statement to Integrity.

If there was pressure on the women’s press officer, I did not see it.

P. Has Luis Rubiales betrayed you, disappointed you…?

R. Rubiales paid for a serious error that had a disproportionate response. The end of it was dark but the management of it is there. You have to see the Federation that he took over in 2018 and the one that he left in 2023. The kiss and different open wars that came from afar stained everything.

Q. Has anyone disappointed you?

A. Very precisely: everyone acted as I expected them to act. No surprise, no disappointment.

No one has surprised or disappointed me. Everyone has acted the way I expected.

Q. How far are you going to fight the legal battle to prove that your dismissal and the treatment you received are unfair?

A. Until a judge rules on whether he acted correctly towards me.

Q Do you fear that your name will be linked to Rubiales in the future?

A. I don’t have that feeling and football has shown me the opposite in recent months. I am very grateful to everyone who has contacted me and been interested in my situation.

Q. What have you learned from all this?

A. Life is a continuous learning process, all the situations experienced in the Federation help you grow as a professional. We have been overcoming one crisis after another and after having managed everything we encountered, I am prepared to face any challenge that may arise in the future.