Just over two weeks after leading Spain to glory in the Women’s World Cup, head coach Jorge Vilda has been sacked by the Spanish federation as the fallout continues following the behaviour of its president Luis Rubiales immediately following Spain’s victory.
Rubiales kissed Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony, a kiss Hermoso later said was not consensual and has since refused to resign, despite having been provisionally suspended by football’s world governing body FIFA for a period of 90 days.
Vilda’s sacking came after he was shown applauding Rubiales immediately following his speech where he publicly refused to resign. Since that speech, Vilda’s entire coaching staff have resigned from their posts, whilst 81 players have refused to play for Spain moving forward whilst the “current administrators” are in place.
Following a meeting with the RFEF’s committee of regional presidents alongside interim president Pedro Rocha, Vilda was informed of the decision to remove him from his post this past Tuesday. The 42-year-old leaves after a 108-match reign as head coach of the Spanish women’s national team which began back in 2015 and ended in Sydney with his side beating England 1-0 to lift their first Women’s World Cup title.
Vilda described his sacking as “unfair” in a recent interview conducted with Spanish radio network Cadena SER and also defended his reaction to Rubiales’ infamous speech, which also saw him vow to offer Vilda a new long-term contract worth up to €500,000 a year.
Montse Tome, Vilda’s long-time assistant has been named as his replacement and will take charge ahead of Spain’s UEFA Women’s Nations League group stage fixtures against Sweden and Switzerland later this month. She becomes the first female head coach to ever take charge of the Spanish women’s national team.
