Spain’s football association removed the coach of the national women’s team amid a scandal sparked after the country’s football chief kissed a player.
The association “has decided to dispense with the services” of Jorge Vilda as both sports director and women’s national coach, according to a statement published online on Tuesday.
Vilda’s removal is the latest incident to stem from the controversy that started after Luis Rubiales, the chief of the football association, planted a kiss on national team player and World Cup winner Jennifer Hermoso during the celebrations after the final on Aug. 20 in Sydney. In the initial days after the kiss, Vilda supported Rubiales.
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The association has appointed Montse Tome as the new coach of the women’s team, it said in a separate statement. A former player, Tome has been the second coach since 2018 and will now be the first woman to lead the squad.
In charge since 2015, Vilda has been in the spotlight as a group of players refused to play under his management in the run-up to the tournament in Australia. Some of the players later returned for the championship.
Rubiales has refused to resign as demanded widely by the government, players and regional federation membersfollowing mounting outrage over what he described as the “peck” he gave Hermoso. He’s been suspended by Fifa, the sport’s global ruling body.
The player says the kiss was not consensual.
At an event in Madrid on Aug. 25 when Rubiales defiantly insisted he would stay in his job, Vilda applauded him. A day later the coach condemned Rubiales’ behavior. Most of Vilda’s staff have joined the players from the national team in refusing to compete in more matches until Rubiales is ejected from his post.
In its statement on Tuesday, the football association thanked Vilda for his services to the women’s team and said he had championed values of respect and sporting behavior.
