England’s Georgia Stanway wants the resignation of Luis Rubiales “to be the start of something, rather than the end of something” for the women’s game.
Rubiales resigned as Spanish Football Federation president in the wake of kissing Spain’s Jenni Hermoso after the country’s women’s World Cup final win.
Hermoso, 33, said the kiss was not consensual and she filed a legal complaint last Tuesday.
“Everybody’s fought and we fought as a women’s football group,” said Stanway.
“We fought as players, we’ve fought as staff, we’ve fought as journalists for the outcome to be what it is.
“Obviously, the outcome is what we want. But at the same time, we want this to be the start of something, rather than the end of something.
“We want to continue to be able to have these conversations, to feel comfortable to have these conversations, feel comfortable in your workplace, to be able to stand up for whatever you think is right.”
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The fallout from the kiss has engulfed Spanish football in recent weeks and overshadowed Spain’s World Cup win over England last month.
Rubiales was suspended by world football’s governing body Fifa but had ignored repeated calls to resign until finally doing so.
England manager Sarina Wiegman dedicated her recent Uefa Women’s Coach of the Year award to Spain amid the controversy.
Some 81 Spain players, including all 23 World Cup winners, said they would not play for the national team again while Rubiales was in his position.
World Cup-winning manager Jorge Vilda – considered a close ally of Rubiales – was sacked on 5 September during the scandal, with Montse Tome named as his successor.
Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway added: “I know as a group of Lionesses and I know as a group at Bayern, we will continue to fight for what we believe is right. Even if people don’t join us, we will stand by our own opinion.
“We have a resolution, but this is only the start of something that could end up being potentially very, very positive for the women’s game.”
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