In the latest turn of events since Spain’s women’s soccer team won its first Women’s World Cup, coach Jorge Vilda criticized federation head Luis Rubiales.
Vilda helped Rubiales at first when he didn’t quit despite pressure from Spanish officials. But when FIFA gave Rubiales a 90-day ban, Vilda also spoke out against him.
Vilda told Spain’s EFE, “The things that have happened since Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time in its history and up until now have been a real nonsense and have created a situation that has never happened before, ruining a well-deserved win for our players and our country.”
I’m very sad that our boss, Luis Rubiales, acted in a way that wasn’t right and hurt Spain’s women’s football team’s chances of winning, which is something he has admitted.
“There’s no question that it’s wrong, and it has nothing to do with the values and principles I stand for in my life, in sports in general, and in football in particular.”Rubiales’ actions during and after Spain’s win over England in the Women’s World Cup are at the heart of the whole thing. He was seen by underage kids in the stands grabbing his crotch, and he kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips while he was on the stage.
Hermoso said at first that she “did not enjoy that” and then tried to make the situation seem less important. After thinking about it for days, Hermoso said in a statement that the kiss wasn’t agreed upon.
“The situation shocked me because there were celebrations going on at the time,” Hermoso’s statement said. “After some time has passed and I’ve thought more about how I felt at the time, I feel the need to report this incident because I don’t think anyone should be a victim of this kind of non-consensual behavior at work, in sports, or in a social setting.” “I felt weak and like I was the victim of an impulsive, sexist, out-of-place act I had nothing to do with.”
“In short, I was not treated with respect.”
Hermoso said that Rubiales had asked her to “ease the pressure,” but she was focused on winning the World Cup. She also said that she was feeling pressured to keep making statements to “explain” what Rubiales had done.
She made it clear that she had “ZERO TOLERANCE” for the way Rubiales was acting.
FIFA put Rubiales on hold while it looked into what happened. At an emergency meeting, Rubiales stood his ground and said he was the target of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.” The mostly male crowd cheered.
Rubiales seemed to have the support of the federation, which said that he was telling the truth. Spain’s women’s soccer players have said they support Hermoso and plan to stop playing until Rubiales steps down.