Spain football coach Jorge Vilda has been sacked amid the Luis Rubiales scandal
The Spanish women's football coach Jorge Vilda has been removed from his post by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, amid the Luis Rubiales kissing scandal.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation has been shrouded in controversy since the Women's World Cup final last month. Spain's 1-0 victory over England was short-lived, when the federation's president Luis Rubiales was filmed kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the celebration.
The global scandal prompted calls for the 46-year-old to resign, with all 23 of Spain's female squad refusing to play while Rubiales remained President of the federation.
Last week, he addressed the incident in a controversial speech in which he refused to resign, insisting the kiss was "mutual" and that he was victim to a "witch hunt" and "fake feminism".
The speech has been widely criticised, but among those filmed applauding Rubiales was another controversial figure, Spanish women's football coach, Jorge Vilda.
Rubiales has now been suspended from all football activity for 90 days, and instructed not to contact Jenni Hermoso, with Pedro Rocha appointed his interim replacement.
The Spanish FA under new management has promised change and restructure, with one of its first moves confirmed today - the removal of Jorge Vilda as the Spanish women's football team coach.
The decision, reported by multiple Spanish outlets, comes after all 11 of Vilda's colleagues had resigned in protest over the kissing scandal.
Jorge Vilda, who has led the Spanish Women's football team for eight years, has also long been surrounded with controversy.
In fact, following the Euros last year, 15 of his star players refused to play on the national team until he was fired, signing a letter calling for his removal due to their reported discomfort with the atmosphere and unhappiness over his management.
Jorge Vilda's dismissal comes amid the Royal Spanish Football Federation's statement about Rubiales, apologising for the "enormous damage" it caused.
"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," read the statement. "Mr Rubiales’ actions do not represent the values defended by the Spanish federation, nor the values of Spanish society as a whole.
"His actions must be attributed solely and exclusively to him, since he is the one solely responsible for those actions before society, before the sports governing bodies and, if applicable, before justice.
"We are sorry that this incident has disrupted what should have been an ongoing celebration of football both for our national team and that of England's Lionesses, who were a truly remarkable rival in a thrilling final."
We will continue to update this story.
