After Rayadas de Monterrey won their second league championship in club history, Rebeca Bernal decided to celebrate with a big kiss in front of at least one camera. The other half of the kiss was her girlfriend and fellow Mexico National Team player, Janelly Farías, who plays for another team in the Liga MX Femenil.
The two have not been shy on social media, sharing photos of themselves kissing and expressing their love for one another.
Yet the photo of the post-match kiss has drawn some mixed reactions in Mexico.
For starters, Farías is pictured wearing the jersey of her girlfriend’s club, even though she plays for Club América. Some fans didn’t appreciate that so much.
Yet it was the fact that the smooch was between two women, and then shared by the league, that got some talking.
“There are millions of children who see these images and give a controversial message,” wrote one fan in Spanish. “I think it was not wise to show it because culture still needs to be done to normalize same-sex relationships.”
Of course some people came to the defense of the women, some pointing out that this claim is exactly why this image should be shared widely.
“If you teach your children respect and not homophobia,” tweeted one responder, “they don’t have to be confused.”
Another genius claimed that in the last three decades, no men have been shown kissing their wives.
“Is there a photo of a professional player, in the last 30 years that has been put on the cover kissing his wife?” The tweeter wrote “This is all about you know who, it has already started to be something that disgusts and I personally am not found, but this has nothing to do with sport.”
That tweet was greeted with similar responses to the first, including pictures of men in soccer kissing women.
“They always pass the players kissing their wife when they are champions, they viralize them in a positive way and nobody complains,” one person said.
The complaints of course underscore why it’s important to share photos like this, and how every athlete coming out publicly and sharing images of their relationship helps people — particularly youth — see possibility in their own life.