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Soccer

LIGA F

Spanish federation reportedly bans players from wearing purple Women’s Day armband in Liga F

The RFEF has reportedly refused to allow players to wear the commemorative armband, calling it a “publicity act”.

Joe Brennan
Joe Brennanj4brennan
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The RFEF has reportedly refused to allow players to wear the commemorative armband, calling it a “publicity act”.
BallesterosEFE

Another sunrise, as has become usual, brings another problem for women’s football in Spain.

All players across the league, as well as many prominent journalists who cover the game, were sent purple armbands with the league logo and ‘8-M’ (8 March), in a celebration of International Women’s Day. The idea behind the initiative was for the players to wear the armbands during the 22nd match day of the season, but now it appears that the plan has been put on the shelf.

Various reports across Spain said that the RFEF had not permitted the wearing of the armband due to it being a “publicity act”, given it also sports the logo of the league as well as the commemorative message. The reports suggest that the referees, provided by the RFEF and not the league, were responsible for recommending players not to wear them once the game had started. In the moments before kick-off, the players were permitted to sport the armband and some could even be seen on the bench wearing them over their shirt sleeves.

The armband was seen as a way of promoting International Women's Day and showing respect to all the women who are involved in sport.
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The armband was seen as a way of promoting International Women's Day and showing respect to all the women who are involved in sport.BallesterosEFE

“On the 8th of March”, the inside of the commemorative box reads, “International Women’s Day is celebrated. For this reason, from the Liga F Finetwork, we want you to participate in the ‘WEAR THE ARMBAND’ movement. The objective of this movement is to defend the role of women in sport, as well as thank all the women who have have formed and currently form part of this sport... we would love you to wear the armband to a game in order to pay homage to them.”

Lila Barça

FC Barcelona have, over the past week, launched their own initiative that celebrates women in sport. Called Lila Barça, the club teamed up with Pantone to develop a new official shade of purple, a fusion of their typical red and blue. The colour has been used on the club’s social media channels and the players posed in front of a purple sign with a message of support before their league game against Villarreal.

FC Barcelona pose in front of the Lila Barça sign before the game.
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FC Barcelona pose in front of the Lila Barça sign before the game.NurPhotoGetty

The stance of the RFEF is curious, as in June 2022, players in the national team wore rainbow armbands in the buildup to the game against Australia that took place in Huelva. In this instance, the RFEF did not have any issues. Self promotion, it seems, takes place over spreading positive messages.

It must be said that fans, managers and staff did wear the armband during the games this weekend, showing that there is, at least, some hope.