The Luis Rubiales scandal has led to the dismissal of Jorge Vilda, the coach of the Spanish women's national team that won the World Cup. In a statement, the Spanish FA thanked Vilda for his work in the role and noted how he had helped grow the women's game in the country.
“The Royal Spanish Football Federation, in one of the first renovation measures announced by President Pedro Rocha, has decided to dispense with the services of Jorge Vilda as sports director and women's national coach, a position, the latter, which he agreed to in 2015. The RFEF appreciates his work at the helm of the National Team and in his duties as head of sports for the women's teams, as well as the successes achieved during his time crowned with the recent achievement of the World Cup. We value her impeccable personal and sporting conduct, being a key piece in the remarkable growth of women's football in Spain. During his long career, Vilda has been a promoter of the values of respect and fair play in football,” the statement said.
81 players boycotted representing Spain and most of Vilda's coaching staff resigned following Spain's victory at the 2023 FIFA World Cup, where forward Jenni Hermoso said the victory was tainted because football federation president Rubiales kissed her without her consent.
FIFA, the international soccer federation, has provisionally suspended Rubiales after he refused to resign but since last week, the RFEF has been debating whether or not it can fire Vilda, 42, who is seen as a close ally of Rubiales. RFEF interim president Pedro Rocha announced the move as "one of the first renewal measures" while Rubiales serves a FIFA suspension.
At the extraordinary general assembly of the RFEF in early August, Vilda was seen applauding Rubiales, even though he has since criticized his behaviour and said he would not work with him again.
Former midfielder, Montse Tome, the first woman to hold this position, has been named his successor. Tome's first game in charge of the women's national team will take place on Friday, September 22 when they play Sweden on the 22nd and Switzerland on the 26th for UEFA’s Women's Nations League qualifying games.
As the RFEF put it, "She knows the locker room very well and also has extensive knowledge of the excellent national youth team."
The RFEF stated in September 2022 revealing that 15 players had submitted identical emails saying they would not play for Vilda unless "significant" concerns over their "emotional state" and "health" were addressed, but Vilda, who had been in charge of the national team since 2015, survived the 'revolt'.
The players, who became known as "Las 15," denied rumours that they had demanded Vilda, who has always stood by Rubiales, be fired. Nonetheless, tensions rose after reports surfaced about players' dissatisfaction with training and game preparation.
Only three of those 15 returned from exile to help Spain win the World Cup last month in Sydney, defeating England. In 108 games as Spain's head coach, Vilda led his team to 75 victories and the quarterfinals of the 2017 and 2022 European Championships.
The current FIFA women's world rankings have the World Cup champions in second place.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation issued a lengthy statement in which they apologized to "the football institutions, the players, especially the players of the Spanish National Team and the English National Team, stakeholders involved in football, and fans around the world for the totally unacceptable behaviour of its highest institutional representative during the final match of the 2023 FIFA World Cup."
"The damage caused to Spanish football, to Spanish sport, to Spanish society and the values of football and sport as a whole have been enormous. The RFEF wants to transmit to the whole of society and to the whole of the football world its utmost regret for what happened that has tarnished our team, our football and our society.
We must apologise most sincerely and make a firm and absolute commitment that events like these can never happen again."
Rubiales said the kiss with Hermoso was consensual, while the RFEF threatened legal action over her "lies" after he refused to resign in a speech days after the World Cup final.
A continuous celebration of football was disrupted by the incident, which Rocha "regretted" had happened.
"The performance of Mr Rubiales both at that moment and in the hours that followed are not acceptable under any circumstances and for this reason the RFEF immediately withdrew from its website all those inappropriate and meaningless communications that did not value what was achieved by the national team and did not take into account the statements by the player about these events. To be clear, this position was that of Mr. Rubiales, not that of the RFEF. We feel especially sorry and ashamed for the pain and additional distress this has caused."
Rocha continued, "I want to congratulate our team again for its historic triumph, realizing the impact and legacy that this victory will have on the future of Spanish football. We are convinced that their spirit has inspired millions of people of all ages, and we cannot be prouder of the way they have behaved, both inside and off the field of play."
