Lucy Bronze praises Spanish players for speaking out during Luis Rubiales trial

Lucy Bronze described the Spanish players who were involved in the trial of Luis Rubiales as “incredibly brave” and said England players stood with them in their fight for change, on the day the former head of the Spanish football federation was found guilty of sexual assault.

Speaking before England play Portugal on Friday and Spain on Wednesday in the Nations League, and shortly before the verdict, Bronze, who was a teammate of several of the players involved in the trial during her time at Barcelona, said: “I am good friends with a lot of the players involved around it. From my point of view, knowing them, it’s been incredible that these players have had to go through that.

“Not only winning the World Cup and handling the media on the outside of it, but they were in the court case and speaking out. It’s incredibly brave of all the individuals and the team collectively.”

Rubiales was found guilty on Thursday of kissing the striker Jenni Hermoso without her consent after Spain’s World Cup final defeat of England and was ordered by the court to pay a fine of more than €10,000. The 47-year-old was acquitted of coercion, having been accused of pressuring Hermoso to say the kiss was consensual.

“They are fighting for change not just in that court case but in their federation,” said Bronze. “As an England team we have made changes in our team, not for the same reasons. As we watch on, we stand by the Spanish players, we wish them the best, we want them to get what they deserve, and we want them to just enjoy the football as well. I was there last season at Barcelona, and watching players go through the ordeal after the World Cup was challenging. It would be nice for them to get back to football. They are incredible people and unbelievable players as well.”

The England defender praised the growing number of players who are speaking up on issues that affect them on and off the pitch, highlighting her international teammates Millie Bright and Ella Toone. Bright has talked about the impact of online abuse and of period shame putting girls off sport, and Toone has spoken about grief.

England’s Sarina Weigman(left) said she was ‘very proud’ of players using their platform to speak out. Photograph: Harriet Lander/The FA/Getty Images

“It’s amazing,” said Bronze. “It is something we stand for in women’s sport especially. When you watch another player do it, it gives you a little something as well, that you believe that you can speak up and people are listening. Everyone is using their platform to make change and to try and be positive and to do the right things. That is something that is special about women’s sport in general. We all have each other’s backs and try to empower each other.

“Sadly, there is that negative side to sport in general, but we are trying to make change. We want the world to be a better place, the sports that we play to be better places. We want to be safe, we want to bring joy and excitement and that is why we all play the sport. To use our platforms to push those things forward and make change for little boys and girls, that is something we hold really dear to our hearts.”

Bronze added that it was important for male athletes to not be stigmatised for doing the same: “For females to stand up and to speak out stereotypically is seen as a sign of bravery and empowerment. It tends to go the other way for the male side and that’s quite sad … Anyone speaking out is a sign of bravery. To be vulnerable is a sign of bravery because it’s a hard thing to do.”

Sarina Wiegman, sitting to Bronze’s right, said she was “absolutely very proud” of the way players are using their platform. “It shows a lot about the togetherness of the team,” England’s manager said. “You are not alone and sharing these experiences within the team and then the wider world resonates. It’s really powerful. We have that platform because we are performing at the highest level. That is what I always say: if you perform at the highest level so much can come from that.”