The coach of Spain’s World Cup-winning women’s football team, Jorge Vilda, has been sacked amid the crisis over the conduct of federation president Luis Rubiales.
Vilda led his team to a 1-0 victory over the Lionesses during last month’s World Cup final in Australia, but has since faced criticism for applauding a speech in which Rubiales decried calls for his resignation as a “witch hunt”.
Rubiales, head of Spanish football federation RFEF, continues to refuse to resign despite a worsening crisis after kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips – which she says was non-consensual – while she celebrated her team’s victory on 20 August.
The entire women’s team has vowed to boycott the national team unless Rubiales quits, while the row has also sparked mass resignations by coaches and a mutiny by regional leaders of the Spanish FA.
Vilda – who was already controversial before the World Cup amid complaints from players about his management style – had applauded as Rubiales gave a defiant speech railing against “false feminism”.
He later appeared to have changed his tune with a statement that expressed “deep regret that the victory of Spanish women’s football has been harmed by the inappropriate behaviour” of Rubiales.
Vilda was offered a new four-year contract by Rubiales in the wake of the victory, but this offer has now been rescinded. He was reportedly dismissed by interim RFEF president Pedro Rocha.
The RFEF made no reference to any discontent among the players towards the players in announcing Vilda’s exit, instead referring to his “professionalism and dedication during all these years”.
“We value (Vilda’s) impeccable personal and sporting conduct, being a key piece in the notable growth of women’s football in Spain. During his extensive period, Vilda has been a promoter of the values of respect and sportsmanship in football,” the statement said.
“The RFEF is left with an extraordinary sporting legacy thanks to the implementation of a recognized game model and a methodology that has been an engine of growth for all the women’s categories of the national team.”
The statement described the move as one of the first “renewal measures” under Rocha.
Earlier on Tuesday, Rocha issued an apology to “the football world as whole, to the players of the Spanish national team and England football team, [and] to fans around the world, for the totally unacceptable behaviour” of Rubiales during and since the World Cup final.
He wrote: “The damage caused to Spanish football, to Spanish sport, to Spanish society and to all the values of football and sport has been enormous.
“The RFEF wants to express, to the whole of society and to the whole of football world, its utmost regret for what happened. We feel deeply saddened by the damage caused.
“We regret that this incident has negatively impacted what should have been a continuous celebration of football, both of our national team as well as the Lionesses of England, who were a truly extraordinary rival in an exciting final.”
Rubiales has been provisionally suspended by the international footballing body Fifa and is facing a Spanish government case against him – but is yet to officially resign from his role.
Spain’s Sport Administrative Tribunal on Friday opened a case against Rubiales for “serious misconduct.”
“When the eyes of the world were played on our players, his acts caused damage to our sport and our country that is difficult to repair,” said Miquel Iceta, Spain’s acting minister of culture and sport.
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