Spain: Players haven't resigned but 'situations affect their emotions'

The RFEF

said on Thursday that fifteen Spanish players have resigned by email because the present national team environment was detrimental to their health.

In a statement, the RFEF vowed not to yield to the protesting players' demands and emphasized that those who refuse to play for the national team might be banned for up to five years.

Numerous members of the Spanish national team, including Barcelona's

, Manchester United's Ona Batlle,

Manchester City

's

, and injured UEFA Player of the Year

, have issued identical statements on social media condemning the RFEF for making their private email public, criticizing the tone of the statement, and clarifying their position.

The statement explains that the athletes have made themselves temporarily unavailable for selection until "'situations that affect our emotional and personal state are reversed".

"The players regret, in the first place, that the RFEF has made public, a private communication, with information that affects our health - which is part of our privacy- sent in response to the request of the Federation itself to know who of us wanted not to be called up. Communication of which, by the way, we have not received response in form."

"Secondly, in no case have we RESIGNED from the Spanish football team as the RFEF points out in its official statement. As we said in our private communication we have maintained, maintain and will maintain an unquestionable commitment to the Spanish selection. That is why in our communication sent to the RFEF we request not to be called up until situations that affect our emotional and personal state are reversed."

"We wish the best for the RFEF, for the National Team Feminine and for us in particular, without entering into public wars. We have never asked for the dismissal of the coach as has been commented. We understand that our work is not in any case to choose said position, but to express constructively and honestly what we consider can improve the performance of the group."

In addition to Bonmati, Batlle, Aleixandri and Putellas, Ainhoa Vicente, Patri Guijarro, Sandra Paños, Amaiur Sarriegi, Leila Ouahabi, Lucia García, Mapi León, Claudia Pina, Mariona Caldentey and Lola Gallardo have also published the declaration on social media.

players also emphasize the professional risk they are taking by declining to be called up for the national squad in advance of the World Cup, emphasizing that they have not made this decision lightly.

"Can anyone think that, eight months before a World Cup, a group of TOP LEVEL PLAYERS, which is what we consider ourselves, consider this decision, as has been implied publicly, as a whim or blackmail? By requesting not to be called up, we penalise our professional career, our finances and therefore ability to continue building something important in women's football."

"Where we are right now has cost many people years of effort and there are still many things to improve as is being shown recently. Last but not least importantly, we will not tolerate the infantilising tone with which the RFEF concludes its release. We regret that in the context of women's sport we have to go to this extreme, as unfortunately it has happened in other teams and other sports historically worldwide, to achieve progress in a powerful and ambitious professional project for the present and for future generations."

Follow

for the