Europe | Charlemagne

A sexism scandal in Spanish football hides the country’s progress

Much of society has left outdated attitudes behind. But business has yet to catch up

Luis Rubiales being hit on the head with a football that represents the female gender symbol
Image: Peter Schrank

IN 1997 ANA ORANTES appeared on a Spanish television show to describe decades of vicious abuse by her husband: wild jealousy, beatings and isolation. Two weeks later she was found tied to a chair and burned to death by the man she had denounced. Spain was shocked not only by her murder, but also by the fact that she had called the police many times, to no avail.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A kiss is not just a kiss”

From the September 2nd 2023 edition

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