Soccer-Spain players decry 'systematic discrimination' toward women's team

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Putellas, speaking in Gothenburg ahead of a Nations League match against Sweden on Friday, said new protocols needed to be put in place so that a situation such as Hermoso's does not happen again. Following negotiations that went on into the early hours of Wednesday, a majority of players agreed to end their boycott in exchange for a reshuffle of the RFEF's top management.

The Spanish women's soccer team has been subjected to "systematic discrimination" over the past decades, star player Alexia Putellas said on Thursday after a month-long standoff with the football federation (RFEF) over sexism and gender equality.

The players had been refusing to play for Spain in solidarity with team mate Jenni Hermoso after the RFEF's then-president, Luis Rubiales, kissed her on the mouth - allegedly without consent - during celebrations after the team won the World Cup last month. Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Putellas, speaking in Gothenburg ahead of a Nations League match against Sweden on Friday, said new protocols needed to be put in place so that a situation such as Hermoso's does not happen again.

Following negotiations that went on into the early hours of Wednesday, a majority of players agreed to end their boycott

in exchange for a reshuffle of the RFEF's top management. Spain defender Irene Paredes said the conflict with the federation could be a "point of inflection", although the players had yet to "see the light at the end of the tunnel" despite support from women all across the world.

Paredes said the players had felt alone during much of the standoff and criticised the Spanish government for being slow to intervene in the situation. (Writing by David Latona in Madrid; Editing by Charlie Devereux and Toby Davis)