"It will really p--- me off not to go to the World Cup, but my values come first," Barcelona and Spain defender Mapi Leon said in March.
This week, she was one of the big absentees, along with club teammate Patri Guijarro, from the 30-player provisional squad announced by coach Jorge Vilda for this summer's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The list will be cut to 23 on June 30.
Leon and Guijarro were among 15 players who simultaneously wrote to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in September 2022, saying that the conditions within the national team had affected their health and mental state.