Coach of Spain’s World Cup-winning women’s soccer team is fired weeks after victory celebration kiss

By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer

MADRID (AP) — The coach of Spain’s World Cup-winning women’s soccer team was fired Tuesday, less than three weeks after the victory celebration that led to the suspension of the country’s soccer federation president for kissing a player.

The Spanish soccer federation offered no immediate explanation for the dismissal, saying only that Jorge Vilda was “key to the notable growth of women’s soccer” and thanking him for leading the national team to the World Cup title and to No. 2 in the FIFA rankings — its highest ever position.

Vilda was among those who at first applauded federation president Luis Rubiales when he refused to resign despite facing widespread criticism for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the title celebrations last month in Sydney.

One of Vilda’s assistant coaches, Montse Tomé, was appointed to replace him. She will be the first woman to hold the job.

Rubiales, who also grabbed his crotch in a lewd victory gesture after the final game, has been provisionally suspended by FIFA and faces a Spanish government case against him for the conduct that prompted a storm of criticism and led to widespread calls for his resignation.

Vilda later said Rubiales’ behavior was improper. Men’s soccer coach Luis de la Fuente also initially applauded Rubiales for a diatribe against what he called “false feminists.” De la Fuente later apologized and said his applause was an “inexcusable” human error.

Vilda, who was also relieved of his job as sporting director, had been at the helm of the women’s team since 2015. Less than a year ago, some players rebelled against him in a crisis that put his job in jeopardy.

Fifteen players stepped away from the national team, citing their mental health, and demanded a more professional environment. Only three returned to the squad that won the World Cup.

The players who left the team signed a letter complaining about Vilda and the conditions for the national team.

Vilda was heavily backed by Rubiales throughout the process.

In a statement announcing the firing, the soccer federation expressed its gratitude to Vilda “for the services provided, for his professionalism and his dedication during all these years.”

Vilda “leaves the federation 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 said.

During the team’s titles celebration in Madrid after the World Cup, Vilda received a lukewarm welcome from fans. He had been jeered by some during a viewing party during the final match.

The World Cup title was Spain’s first since the men’s team won its lone trophy at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. It was only the third World Cup appearance by the women’s team.

The team, known as La Roja, got to the knockout round four years ago but lost to eventual champion the United States. It had not advanced past a major semifinal since the 1997 European Championship.

The president currently in charge of the Spanish soccer federation, Pedro Rocha, released a letter Tuesday apologizing to the soccer world and to society in general for Rubiales’ behavior.

Rocha said the federation had the responsibility to ask for “the most sincere apologies to the soccer world as a whole,” especially to fans and players of the women’s national team, “for the totally unacceptable behavior of its highest representative.”

In no way did his behavior represent “the values of Spanish society as a whole, its institutions, its representatives, its athletes and the Spanish sports leaders,” Rocha wrote.

In other developments, the captains of the Spanish men’s national team on Monday condemned Rubiales’ “unacceptable behavior” in a show of support for the women’s team.

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