As Jorge Vilda, 42, declined to resign as the coach of Spain’s World Cup-winning women’s team, and the country’s football federation (RFEF) is getting ready to fire him, a federation source revealed on Thursday.
RFEF President Luis Rubiales (46) was suspended by FIFA for planting a kiss on a player’s lips, and a new board that was established as a result has decided to work on terminating coach Vilda’s contract, a source told Reuters.
The women’s team players who went on strike following the incident are also being bargained with by the board for their return.
Vilda, who has backed Rubiales, is a polemical figure himself in women’s football.
The board was now working on the legalities of his termination and determining a severance package equal to his 160,000-euro salary, he said.
The RFEF, which speaks for Vilda while he remains its women’s team coach, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. During the World Cup, he said the team’s success would not have been possible without the RFEF’s backing.
SALARY OFFER
During an address to members of the federation on Friday, Rubiales declined to step down amidst the controversy surrounding the kiss incident, attributing it to what he termed “false feminists.”
He commended Vilda for overseeing the World Cup victory and extended an offer for a fresh, four-year contract with an annual salary of 500,000 euros.
Among those who most fervently supported Rubiales’ decision not to resign was Vilda himself.
According to a source, the federation cannot be bound by Rubiales’ verbal salary proposition and believes it has a “strong argument” in case Vilda chooses to initiate legal proceedings.
Over the weekend, the leading 58 female players of Spain’s national team declared that, following the medal ceremony in Sydney, where Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without consent, they would not resume playing for the national team under the present leadership.
The RFEF source noted that discussions were ongoing with players to ascertain whether the removal of Vilda would alter their stance.
Furthermore, the RFEF has actively pursued the return of Rafael del Amo, the president of the national committee for women’s football, who resigned in protest against Rubiales’ decision not to step down.
Del Amo has been nominated to speak to players on the pledge that the RFEF will renew the team’s staff, the source said.