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 received the UEFA trophy and she dedicated it to the Spanish team that beat England in the World Cup final.
However, when Ceferin presented the award at the event in Monaco, he told Wiegman: “Be careful, it’s hard.”
Social media users were quick to criticize the UEFA president for the comment.
One wrote: “There’s no way the Uefa president said to Sarina Weigman ‘be careful, he’s heavy’ when he presented her with Coach of the Year.” “Honestly mate… after the last two weeks Do you want to condescend?”
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 criticize the UEFA president for the comment
One said it was another example of a recurring event
Another called men in football “terrible” when they interact with women who play the sport
Another posted: “What’s with men telling women to be careful that the trophy they’re about to receive is heavy? Just happened again.”
A third added: “Why are men in football so disgusting towards the women who play the sport?”
Less than two weeks have passed since England’s painful 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final in Sydney.
However, Spain’s glory was overshadowed by the “Kissgate” scandal, in which Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales bizarrely kissed star Jenni Hermoso.
Wiegman received the award from Ceferin after leading the Lionesses to victory at Euro 2022 last year and the World Cup final this month.
The England coach took the time to insult the Spanish Football Association and Rubiales during the UEFA ceremony, which also took place to mark the Champions League draw.
Wiegman said the “Kissgate” scandal shows that there is still a long way to go in women’s football and women’s society
The England coach praised Spain for playing “great football” at the World Cup and said they “deserved to be celebrated”.
“Can I please send a message?” said Wiegman after asking the host the first questions about her successful year.
“Well, first of all, thank you to everyone for voting, especially of course to my colleagues. It’s really special, I feel very honored.
“Thank you also to everyone who is committed to the Lionesses, of course the team, the incredible team, the players and staff and the support from the FA.”
“But it also feels a little different.” We all know the problems surrounding the Spanish team. It really hurts me as a coach, as a mother of two daughters, as a wife and as a person. It shows that the sport has grown so much, but there is still a long way to go in women’s football and in society.
“I would like to dedicate this award to the Spanish team, the team that played such great football at the World Cup that everyone enjoyed.”
“This team deserves to be celebrated and deserves to be listened to. “I’ll give them a big round of applause and hope you’ll join me.”
Later, World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati accepted her UEFA Player of the Year award before also addressing the Rubiales situation.
“I appreciate Sarina Wiegman’s words,” she began.
Aitana Bonmati thanked Wiegman as she accepted her Player of the Year award and said she stood with her colleagues, including Spanish teammate Jenni Hermoso
Wiegman dedicated the award to Spain after accepting the award from UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin
“These are not good times for Spanish football.” The World Cup didn’t happen as it should and I don’t want the page to turn.
“As a society, we cannot allow abuse of power in work relationships and a lack of respect.” “I stand with my colleagues and with 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 federation president’s association dramatically withdrew its support for him.
Spanish Football Federation bosses called for Rubiales, 46, to step down immediately, saying his “unacceptable” behavior had “seriously damaged the image of Spanish football”.
The about-face followed FIFA’s threat to ban Spanish national teams and elite clubs from international competition if the Spanish Football Federation refused to accept the penalty against him.
Rubiales has been asked to resign by the Spanish Football Federation after the latter made an about-face to his president
Rubiales was provisionally banned by FIFA for 90 days last week and had earlier secured the support of the Spanish Football Federation pending the outcome of an internal investigation into his unusual behavior when kissing Hermoso.
After a five-hour meeting on Monday, the Spanish Football Association confirmed that he had now been asked to resign.
Rubiales has defiantly refused to stop up to that point, and he sent FIFA a copy of newly released footage, which shows the women’s soccer team celebrating and joking about his infamous kiss.
Hermoso has denied claims that the kiss was consensual.