MANILA, Philippines - Fil-Spanish brothers Angel and Juani Guirado yesterday broke their silence on the complaint filed by AFC match commissioner Cristy Ramos accusing the two Azkals of sexual harassment in the dressing room before a recent friendly match at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Ramos filed a complaint to the AFC disciplinary committee chaired by Lim Kia Tong charging Angel Guirado and Lexton Moy of “sexist and demeaning behavior” in a dugout encounter before the Azkals’ match against Malaysia last Feb. 29.
“I’m truly sorry for the misunderstanding and I apologize to Ms. Ramos for not being sensitive to her presence (in the dressing room),” said Guirado. “I wish to make clear that I intended no disrespect nor malice when Ms. Ramos called on me to check on my jersey number before our match against Malaysia. I wore my playing shorts but still had not put on my shirt. The accusation of sexual harassment is serious and grave and has caused much anguish and shock to my family as Spanish media has picked up the news. Throughout my life and career, I have kept our family name’s honor. I proudly represent both the Philippines and Spain as an athlete. I will never do anything to compromise this responsibility.”
Guirado, 27, was born in Malaga, Spain, to a Spanish father and Filipina mother. He was recruited to join the Azkals last year. His older brother Juani, 32, was later recruited and played for the Azkals in the recent AFC Challenge Cup where the national squad took a historic third place. The Guirado brothers played a key role in propelling the Azkals’ rise as a Southeast Asian football contender.
While issuing the statement, Guirado showed a copy of the story that appeared in the widely-circulated Spanish daily sports newspaper “Marca” with a two-layer headline “Denuncian por ‘acoso sexual’ en Filipinas al espanol Angel Guirado” (Complaint for sexual harassment in the Philippines for Spanish Angel Guirado). The story is stored in his i-phone.
“In Spain, it is a serious charge when you are accused of sexual harassment,” said Guirado. “My parents are very disturbed and even went to the Spanish Football Association to explain the situation. I was accused of purposely just wearing briefs and made no attempt to wear shorts or cover my underwear when I faced Ms. Ramos in the dressing room and that was the basis of the accusation of sexual harassment.”
Guirado’s older brother Juani, who left Manila yesterday for Spain to resume his work in the quality control section of Pepsi Cola and rejoin his football club in Burgos, said the situation was blown out of proportion and caused unnecessary shame not only to Angel but also to the entire national football team and the country.
“The headline in ‘Marca’ was very alarming,” said Juani. “In my opinion, this could have been avoided if only Ms. Ramos waited until we got back from Nepal, called on Angel and Lex to explain themselves one-on-one and clear the misunderstanding. As it happened, the complaint was filed after we left for Nepal and neither Angel nor Lex had a chance to explain their side. Instead, the complaint was filed to the AFC and broadcast in media while we were in Nepal fighting for the Philippines. It really affected our morale especially since there was no malice, no sexual harassment, no intent to disrespect. The match commissioner is a person of authority and football players all over the world acknowledge this fact.”
Meanwhile, Angel said he regrets receiving the two yellow cards that disqualified him from playing against Turkmenistan in the recent Challenge Cup semifinals. One came in the North Korea game and the other against Tajikistan. “I don’t know what could’ve happened if I played with James (Younghusband) and (Jason) Sabio,” he said. “Maybe, we would have a better chance of winning but I can’t say because our replacements were just as skillful. You’ll never know in football.” He said he couldn’t understand why he was flashed the yellow cards, particularly the second, but didn’t protest as the referee’s judgment is final. Younghusband also sat out the game due to two accumulated yellow cards and Sabio couldn’t play because of a knee injury.
The Guirado brothers and another Fil-Spanish player Carli de Murga were on the Global F. C. team that scored a 5-1 win over Kaya F. C. in the UFL at the University of Makati pitch last Saturday. It was Juani’s farewell match before returning to Spain. Juani said he hopes to be back in October to rejoin the Azkals for the Suzuki Cup.
De Murga, 23, scored twice in the victory over Kaya and caused an own goal by Kaya to power Global’s rout. De Murga recently had a tattoo marked on his right bicep showing a feathered pen and the words “Mahal Kita.” On the back of both his wrists are tattooed the name of his Filipina mother Jacqueline (Olaivar) and Junior, his nickname. On his ankles are tattooed the name of his brother Antonio and his own name Carlos Alberto.