UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has come under fire for warning Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman that her Coach of the Year trophy was “heavy”.
It was the second time Wiegman had received the UEFA trophy and he dedicated it to the Spanish team that beat England in the World Cup final.
However, when Ceferin passed him the award at the Monaco event, he told Wiegman: “Be careful, it’s heavy.”
Social media users were quick to blast the UEFA president for the comment.
One wrote: “In no way did the UEFA president tell Sarina Weigman ‘be careful, he’s heavy’ when he handed her his coach of the year.” Honestly dude… after the last two weeks, do you want to patronize me?
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin presents the Coach of the Year trophy to England coach Sarina Wiegman in Monaco
Sarina Wiegman dedicated her UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year award to Spain
Social media users were quick to blast the UEFA president for the comment.
One expressed that it was another example of a man telling a woman that a trophy is too heavy.
Another called men in soccer ’embarrassing’ towards the women involved in the sport.
Another posted: ‘What about men telling women to be careful because the trophy they are about to receive is heavy? It just happened again.’
A third tweeted: “Why are men in soccer so embarrassing to the women involved in the sport?”
Less than two weeks have passed since England’s agonizing 1-0 defeat by Spain in the final in Sydney.
However, the glory of Spain has been overshadowed by the ‘Kissgate’ scandal in which the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, bizarrely kissed star Jenni Hermoso.
Wiegman received the award from Ceferin after guiding the Lionesses to victory at Euro 2022 last year, as well as the World Cup final this month.
The English coach took the time to criticize the Spanish Federation and Rubiales during the UEFA ceremony, which was also held for the Champions League draw.
He said the ‘Kissgate’ scandal shows that there is still a long way to go in women’s football and in society.
Wiegman praised Spain for playing “great football” at the World Cup, saying they “deserved to be celebrated”
‘Can I send a message, please?’ Wiegman said after asking the host’s initial questions about his successful year.
‘Well, first of all, thank you all for voting, especially of course colleagues, it’s really special, I’m very honored.
“Also thanks to everyone involved with the Lionesses, of course the team, the amazing team, players and staff and the support of the FA.
‘But it also feels a little different. We all know the problems of the Spanish team, it hurts me a lot as a coach, as a mother of two daughters, as a wife and as a human being, you can see that football has grown a lot but there is also a long way to go. go in women’s football and in society.
‘I would like to dedicate this award to the Spanish team, the team that played such fantastic football in the World Cup that everyone enjoyed.
‘This team deserves to be celebrated and deserves to be heard. I’m going to give you a big round of applause and I hope you’ll join me.’
Later, world champion Aitana Bonmati took the stage, collecting her UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award before also addressing the Rubiales situation.
“I appreciate the words of Sarina Wiegman,” he began.
Aitana Bonmati thanked Wiegman as she received her Player of the Year award and said she stands with her teammates, including Spain teammate Jenni Hermoso.
Wiegman dedicated the award to Spain after receiving it from UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin
‘These are not good times for Spanish football. The World Cup has not been held as it should and I would not like to turn the page.
‘As a society we must not allow abuse of power in labor relations and lack of respect. I’m with my teammates and Jenni Hermoso.’
Mail Sport previously reported that FIFA will push for Rubiales to be banned from all football for 15 years after the disgraced Spanish FA president’s own federation dramatically withdrew its support for him.
The heads of the Spanish Football Federation called on the 46-year-old Rubiales to resign with immediate effect, saying his “unacceptable” behavior had caused “serious damage to the image of Spanish football”.
The U-turn followed a threat by FIFA to ban Spanish national teams and elite clubs from international competitions if the Spanish Football Federation refused to accept Rubiales’ punishment.
The Spanish Football Federation asks Rubiales to resign and gives its president a 180-degree turn
Rubiales was last week given a 90-day provisional suspension by FIFA, and had previously retained the backing of the Spanish Football Federation, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into his extraordinary behavior in kissing Hermoso after Spain’s final victory over England in the World Cup.
Following a five-hour meeting on Monday, the Spanish Football Federation confirmed that Rubiales had been asked to resign.
Rubiales has defiantly refused to resign up to this point, sending FIFA a copy of recently released footage showing the women’s soccer team celebrating and joking about their infamous kiss.
Hermoso has denied claims that the kiss was consensual.
