21 August 2023 , 08:40
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Spain star Jenni Hermoso was spotted giving England's Chloe Kelly the middle finger during the World Cup final.
Hermoso played the full 90 minutes as Spain beat the Lionesses 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from captain Olga Carmona. As England chased an equaliser, manager Sarina Wiegman brought on both the returning Lauren James and Euro 2022 hero Kelly.
And during the second half, Hermoso appeared to swear at Kelly with the former Barcelona star pictured raising her middle finger towards her opponent. As Spain were presented with their World Cup winners medals by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Hermoso was also in the spotlight after she was kissed on the lips by Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales.
Speaking on Instagram Live about the incident, Hermoso said: "Eh...yeah, I did not enjoy that." Rubiales, however, claimed it was "two people having a minor show of affection" and that those criticising his actions were "idiots".
He told Radio Marca : "The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots everywhere. When two people have a minor show of affection, we can't listen to idiocies. We are champions and that is what stays with me."
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Reflecting on the defeat, Lionesses captain Millie Bright said her side were "heartbroken" to have fallen short in the final, but vowed they would bounce back. "This is not it from us," she said. "I am sure we’ll bounce back but for now it's hard to take.
"There are probably one million different feelings. Pride, disappointment – heartbroken that we didn't win. The girls were unbelievable. We had a lot of critics, a few lost belief in us but we never stopped believing.
Jenni Hermoso gives Chloe Kelly the middle finger during the World Cup final (Sajad Imanian/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)"Sometimes football goes for you, sometimes against you. The mentality and the character have always been there. We show that, day in, day out, and in every game. We've just played in a World Cup final, it's hard to see it like that at the moment.
"We've played on the highest stage. We've had a shot at competing for the trophy we have always wanted. This isn't the end of the journey." Manager Sarina Wiegman added: "Of course it is very disappointing. Everyone was very disappointed that we didn't win the game.
"We can be proud of ourselves but it doesn't feel like that at this moment. We've grown into the tournament. We've adapted to situations and gave everything in this tournament and in this game.
"I basically said we can still be proud of them. Sometimes you give your everything but the other team still wins." England will be back in action next month when they kick off their Nations League campaign with a game against Scotland at the Stadium of Light on September 22.