Cerys Jones
TW: This article discusses rape, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse.
He is a legend at the club I have called home for my entire life – but he might also be a rapist. That is why Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the greatest footballer ever and one of my childhood idols, is someone I never want to meet.
Initial accusations
Kathryn Mayorga accused Cristiano Ronaldo of rape in 2009. After the #MeToo movement started by Alyssa Milano’s post to Twitter in 2017 got significant traction, Mayorga was inspired to go public with the accusations in 2018.
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017
Unsurprisingly, there was strong disagreement between those who believed Mayorga’s accusation, those who believed Ronaldo’s claim – that the sex was consensual, despite Mayorga reportedly saying ‘no’ and ‘stop’ several times – and saw no reason for his past actions to have an impact his future career.
Juventus, his club at the time, tweeted that the supposed event did not change their opinion of the star. When he returned to Manchester United this summer, most United fans seemed to be in the same camp – and that terrifies me.
The events allegedly dating back to almost 10 years ago do not change this opinion, which is shared by anyone who has come into contact with this great champion. 2/2
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 4, 2018
Ronaldo retaining his status as a club legend shows exactly how little regard there is for the safety of women in football. This situation is just one of many depicting neglect towards the safety of women in the football sphere. In fact, this general disregard has been glaringly evident throughout 2021.
Silence from the football industry
It is perhaps no surprise that the football industry politely excused itself from the national conversation about women’s safety sparked by the tragic murder of Sarah Everard.
“It sends just one clear message out: our safety, as women, does not matter.”
The silence from Manchester United regarding the allegations made against Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as other players such as Ryan Giggs, is poignant – especially for female fans. It sends just one clear message out: our safety, as women, does not matter.
It seems that the football industry believes that its grudging allowance of women’s participation in the game somehow separates it from the dangerous world in which we live – the very world that has come into such sharp focus since Everard’s murder.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Girls are not safe at training. Female fans are not safe on match days. Even professionals may not be safe from discrimination, judging by the revelations of sexual abuse and coercion by NWSL coach Paul Riley and the experiences of Drew Spence and Eni Aluko.
“How is it still the case that women like me must choose between their values, their safety, and their passion for football? How is it that women’s safety, after all this time, still does not matter to the football community?”
Football clubs, it is time to step up
It is not that the problem is too big to solve – it is that those in power do not take the initiative. Are stewards trained to help victims of sexual harassment in the stands? Would fans even know how to report an instance of such? What action is being taken to make the streets leading out of stadiums, or match day public transport, free from sexual harassment and assault?
These are vital questions which are yet to be thoroughly answered and this lack of initiative unfortunately doesn’t surprise me. When the standard is so low that a rape allegation is not enough to stop a club from worshipping a player, it is unsurprising that the football community does not see this array of present issues as deserving of their attention.
A ‘beautiful’ game with an ugly culture
Football culture is one that allows both a potential rapist to succeed so highly, and that treats women as second-class citizens. It pervades across all levels of the game, too.
“Throughout my teens, my teammates and I faced regular catcalls and jeers from men inexplicably watching us play.”
At eight, I was told to stay in the kitchen instead of playing headers and volleys. When I was ten, boys my age told me I had no right to be on their team. When I left for a girls football team at thirteen, it was assumed I had done so because I could not keep up, rather than because I wanted to be somewhere I was valued.
Throughout my teens, my teammates and I faced regular catcalls and jeers from men inexplicably watching us play. Now, at seventeen – alongside my teammates in their twenties – we still have to persuade grown men to move away from our allocated pitch so that we can train during the time slot we have paid for.
“I guarantee that any female fan will be able to recall a time that they have feared for their safety in the stands”
Women are treated as second-class citizens at stadiums, too. I guarantee that any female fan will be able to recall a time that they have feared for their safety in the stands, knowing all too well that hostility at the opposition can easily be turned on them for putting a foot wrong.
It is so easy to pass off groping as an accident in a crowd. And my concerns are only coming from someone who is a slim, able-bodied white woman – the discrimination faced by those without my privilege is undoubtedly worse.
A survey of female fans by Her Game Too showed that nearly 60% of respondents had experienced sexist abuse at a football ground, or watching a game at a pub. 91.9% have seen sexist abuse online towards a woman in football. 63.1% have experienced sexist online abuse themselves because of football.
This misogynistic culture will continue for as long as the toleration of violence against women at the highest echelons of the game does.
Nobody is surprised that women and girls face this reality, but it is striking that this issue is still not getting the attention it deserves. USWNT forward Alex Morgan put it best when she said ‘there’s this idea that we should be grateful for what we have and we shouldn’t raise important questions — or ask questions at all.’ We should be thankful we have been let into the boys’ club, and should keep our complaints to ourselves.
It is not a woman’s job
Some people might be asking: If women want girls to get involved in football, why am I putting them off with these sob stories and overreactions? If I am so upset about the allegations at Ronaldo, why do I always drop everything to grab United tickets when they come out?
“Just like how it is not our job to know arrest laws or how to spot a spiked drink, it is not our job to cover for men’s failures. It is their job to listen to us, and to do better.”
My answer to them is that It is not a woman’s job to martyr themselves and cut the sport they love out of their life because that sport ignores its misogyny problem – it is the responsibility of the men, in the positions of power, to fix this issue. Too many fans choose to ignore the sexists on the grassroots sidelines, in the Premier League stands, in the directors’ boxes – and, yes, on the pitch too.
Just as so many male fans protest their club’s ownership without their loyalty being questioned, fans must call out the treatment in women of football out of love for their club.
Featured image courtesy of Dan Parker on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
cerysjones
Cerys is a first-year journalism student at the University of Sheffield with a special interest in news journalism and politics. She has been published in Big Issue North and is also an Instagram Editor at Empoword Journalism. When she's not writing, she is usually watching Manchester United - or her dog has his head on her laptop keyboard.