International Network for Online Harms in Sport - How a Global Social Drama Forced Spain to Confront Violence in Women’s Football
When #SeAcabó Went Viral: How a Global Social Drama Forced Spain to Confront Violence in Women's Football
The final whistle had blown on the FIFA Women’s World Cup, marking a historic victory for Spain. Yet, instead of celebrating a monumental sporting achievement, the world watched as a moment of triumph immediately morphed into a public confrontation over power and abuse. The non-consensual kiss involving the head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) acted as a match to a long-simmering tinderbox. This highly public event, and the powerful #SeAcabó (It’s Over) movement that followed, became a major "social drama". The research #SeAcabó: how a mass-mediated “social drama” made visible and confronted (subjective and objective) violence in women’s football in Spain explores how this mass-mediated process exposed deep-seated violence, forcing an institutional reckoning in Spanish women’s football and beyond.
A Deeper Look at the Drama: The Research Overview
The study focuses on the #SeAcabó movement as a classic social drama, analysing how public discourse shifted dramatically. The authors investigated online discussions on X (formerly Twitter) and the popular Spanish sports site Marca online across two crucial periods.
The first was a pre-breach stage in September 2022, when a group of players ("Las 15") first protested poor working conditions. The second was the crisis stage in August and September 2023 following the World Cup incident. By comparing the themes and language used during these times, we sought to understand how the highly visible crisis brought underlying issues that we define as subjective and objective violence into sharp focus. The analysis clearly maps the progression from general complaints to an explicit, mass-mediated feminist critique.
Key Insights from the Social Media Discourse
The analysis revealed a profound transformation in how the media and the public discussed the issues facing female athletes.
- From "Unprofessional" to Systemic Violence: In the pre-breach stage (September 2022), much of the negative discourse on Marca online focused on themes like "unprofessionalism," "infantilisation," and the "Diva complex" among players. This changed entirely in 2023. The new conversation centred on structural inequality and objective violence. The crisis provided the language needed to critique the RFEF's systemic issues, moving the focus from the players' behaviour to the institution's failures.
- The Power of Subjective Violence: The immediate, non-consensual act (the subjective violence) became the lightning rod that illuminated years of objective violence the systemic issues like inadequate pay, poor conditions, and institutional neglect. The drama linked the public, visible offence with the invisible, structural harms.
- Feminist Language Goes Viral: The crisis stage was marked by the overwhelming adoption of explicitly feminist terminology and symbols. Support shifted from general goodwill to focused, viral activism. The use of the #SeAcabó hashtag and purple heart emoticons on platforms like X provided a global, unified, and instantly recognisable counter-narrative to institutional power.
- The Backlash: The study also tracked the defensive and critical themes that emerged in response to the feminist critique. Negative discourse during the crisis focused on the critique of the politicisation of football, "banalisation of sexual abuse," and even claims of "liar/false victimhood." This backlash highlights the conflict inherent in a social drama as institutional defenders and critics battle for public narrative control.
Real-World Relevance and Impact
The #SeAcabó social drama offers a powerful blueprint for how deep-seated systemic issues can be forced into the open. The findings have critical relevance for industry leaders, policymakers, and activists globally.
The most profound impact was the accelerated path to redress. The intensity and global visibility of the social drama made the situation untenable for institutional leaders. The use of mass-mediated platforms like X amplified the demand for change far beyond Spanish borders, effectively bypassing traditional media gatekeepers. The non-consensual kiss created a moral breach that the RFEF was unable to manage, rapidly leading to the resignation of the RFEF President.
This scenario serves as a global case study for workplace reform. It demonstrates that when instances of subjective violence are framed correctly by a strong social movement, they can quickly mobilise public support to dismantle decades of objective, structural inequality. For any corporation or governing body in Ireland, the EU, or worldwide, the lesson is clear: long-term systemic issues like pay gaps or poor working conditions, when exposed by a moment of individual failure, can trigger a dramatic, rapid, and unmanageable crisis.
The Legacy of a Social Movement
The #SeAcabó movement stands as a pivotal moment, showing how a mass-mediated social drama can successfully confront structural and interpersonal violence. The movement provided a common language for discussing systemic inequality and demonstrated the immense power of collective outrage and clear, feminist critique in forcing institutional change. What started as a singular event after a football match ended up defining a new, non-negotiable standard for respect and professionalism in women’s sport globally.
Reference:
Rodrigo-Jusue, I., Liston, K., Doidge, M., Black, J., Sinclair, G., Fletcher, T., Kearns, C., Kilvington, D. and Lynn, T. (2025) ‘#SeAcabó: How a mass-mediated “social drama” made visible and confronted (subjective and objective) violence in women’s football in Spain’, Feminist Media Studies, pp. 1–18. doi:10.1080/14680777.2025.2461123.