Fútnotes, Volume 46

It has long been assumed that Necaxa, the club with the worst overall record in the league, was simply a victim of underinvestment and apathy from the club. I truly wish it had been that simple.

There was grim news out of Aguascalientes this past week as Proceso dropped a bombshell, publishing a report that detailed accusations of sexual coercion, verbal abuse, and harassment by head coach Jorge Gómez. The report has testimony from four current and former Necaxa players as well as Rosa “Rox” Romero, ex-assistant coach at Necaxa under Gómez, alleging everything from Gómez telling Romero “a woman can't be in a position of leadership because she does pure bullshit” about her aspirations of being a sporting director to inviting players over to his apartment to drink alcohol and have sex, even some from Necaxa’s U18 team.

As horrific as the allegations are, it is alleged that people in positions of power in the club including sporting director Alberto Clark knew about Gómez’ behavior and protected him, with Clark allegedly saying “muchacho le salió muy coqueto” which roughly translates to “my boy is very flirtatious".

Gross.

The report came out on Thursday, December 7. The club didn’t release a statement until the following day, and while it re-affirmed the club’s commitment “to integrity and professionalism in all our areas,” it noted that no formal complaint had been filed and “our Institution is completely open and willing to listen to players and staff who want to approach our Sexual Harassment and Harassment Assistance Commission.”

But what player or coach is going to jeopardize their career by going to an institutional commission to tell their story when the institution knew about this and did nothing, even letting Gómez coach the club’s friendly against Santos Laguna the day after the club’s statement was released?

As of writing this, Necaxa has not released a further statement on Gómez’ status with the club. Neither Liga MX Femenil nor the FMF have released a statement about the situation. Speaking strictly as a fan of the league, it’s disheartening that it seems like there’s a decent chance for literally nothing at all to be done about this.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The club and the league could suspend Gómez, and independent investigators could be brought in to determine what happened. The FMF could suspend his coaching license. Those that have consistently failed these players and this club could step up and do the right thing.

México

The joint US-México bid for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup was officially unveiled. (FMF)

León won the U19 tournament, beating América 5-4 in penalties in a thrilling match at the Nou Camp.

Anika Rodríguez underwent surgery “for fractures in the nose and orbital bone suffered in the Liguilla” on Thursday, according to Tigres. No timetable was set for her return. (Tigres via Twitter/X)

Jocelyn Orejel underwent surgery for a “chondral injury and a meniscal injury”, according to América. No timetable was set for her return either. (América via Twitter/X)

Atlas announced María Fernanda Delmar Haro will be the new Sporting Director for Atlas Femenil. (Atlas)

Santos detailed some preseason friendlies for the first team and U19 team through the end of the year. (Santos Laguna via Twitter/X)

Santos lost their friendly against Necaxa 2-1. (Santos Laguna)

Pumas also have begun preseason preparations for 2024. (Pumas)

Las Bravalácticas have added another forward as Norma Palafox has signed with FC Juárez.

For more Liga MX Femenil transfer news, don’t forget to check out my transfer tracker.

Thank you for reading Golazo del Gringo! If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with anyone who enjoys women’s soccer.

Rest of the World

The Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro removed Ednaldo Rodrigues from the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) presidency, appointing current President of the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), José Perdiz as interim presiding officer. Rodrigues has been under fire since his election in 2022, with his appointment being contested by other CBF vice presidents. (ge.globo)

FIFPRO, the global union of football players, released a statement saying they’d be representing the St. Kitts and Nevis Women’s National Team “over basic deficiencies relating to safe and fair working conditions.” (FIFPRO)

FIFA released a 35 page report detailing the misdeeds of former Spanish Federation President Luis Rubiales. It's bad, and details previously un-reported incidents of him touching England’s Laura Coombe’s face and kissing England’s Lucy Bronze on the face as well. (FIFA)

Former Houston Dash head coach James Clarkson said they filed a lawsuit against the NWSL and NWSL Players’ Association (NWSLPA) for defamation, tortious interference and conspiracy… (ESPN) 

Which is wild because the NWSLPA released a statement shortly thereafter saying they were never served with the suit. (NWSLPA via Twitter/X)

The sale of the Portland Thorns to Lisa Bhathal Merage and her brother Alex Bhathal is expected to happen early in 2024. (The Athletic) 

UEFA is taking steps to address the crisis of ACL injuries in women’s soccer. (UEFA)

(Here’s a shameless plug for part one of my two part series on ACL injuries!)

Florida State University thrashed Stanford 5-1 to win their fourth NCAA Division I National Championship since 2014. (Florida State University)

Ann Odong was named the first-ever Grant Wahl Memorial Recipient by the Women’s International Champions Cup for her work as Australia’s media manager. Congratulations Ann! (Business Wire)

Arsenal set a new Women’s Super League attendance record, with 59,042 fans at the Emirates for their match against Chelsea.

Don’t ever let them tell you no one pays attention to women’s soccer.

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