Spain’s controversial world champion coach Jorge Vilda has been relieved of his duties in the wake of the scandal surrounding association president Luis Rubiales.
This was announced by the Spanish association RFEF on Tuesday (September 5th, 2023). Vilda had worked for the association since 2015.
In a parting word to Vilda, the RFEF praised his “impeccable personal and sporting conduct” with which he had “played a key role in the remarkable growth of women’s football in Spain”: “During his long tenure, Vilda was a promoter of the values of respect and sportsmanship in football .”
The RFEF had previously apologized for the behavior of Rubiales, who had kissed the player Jennifer Hermoso against her will on the mouth at the awards ceremony after the World Cup triumph against European champions England. It seems possible that the head of the association will also have to go sooner or later. Most of Vilda’s coaching staff have already resigned and the world champions are also on strike.
Rubiales is considered Vilda’s supporter
Vilda and Rubiales have been considered close allies since 15 players went on strike against Vilda in September 2022 to protest the manager’s methods. The 42-year-old recently criticized Rubiales’ behavior, but applauded Rubiales’ incendiary speech at an extraordinary general assembly of the RFEF. The president of the association also refused a resignation demanded by large parts of Spanish politics.
Rubiales had triggered a worldwide wave of outrage with his kiss. World governing body FIFA temporarily suspended him for 90 days.
Spanish FA want to ‘improve federation leadership’
Before the separation from Vilda, the association said that the RFEF wanted to take a number of measures in the coming days, “to improve the leadership of the association and repair the damage caused as much as possible“He said. What consequences the case could have specifically for the association or Rubiales remained unclear. He wanted to sincerely apologize to the football institutions, wrote interim president Pedro Rocha in the letter published on Tuesday (September 5th, 2023) that he had previously already sent to the appropriate addressees.
Rubiales’ behavior does not reflect the values of Spanish society, he has this and Spanish football “enormous damageadded. Now it is the task of the association to ensure that such a case does not happen again, Rocha asserted. In addition, the RFEF is supporting FIFA and the Spanish sports judiciary in coming to a decision as quickly as possible, “who makes up for the damage“.
Also the Public prosecutor determined against Rubiales
The national sports administration court TAD and the public prosecutor are also dealing with the case. The regional associations of Spain refused Rubiales allegiance. In May 2018 he was elected president of the Spanish association. The official also sits as a deputy on the Executive Committee of the European Football Union (UEFA).