Football: Spain coach Jorge Vilda sacked by national federation

Spain’s football federation on Tuesday apologised for the “totally unacceptable behaviour” of Luis Rubiales after the Fifa Women’s World Cup final and fired the team’s controversial coach Jorge Vilda as part of an overhaul.

The apology came more than two weeks after the 46-year-old federation president sparked worldwide outrage when he forcibly kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the medal ceremony after Spain defeated England in the World Cup final on August 20.

In a letter signed by its interim president Pedro Rocha, the federation, or RFEF offered its “most sincere apologies... for the totally unacceptable behaviour of its highest institutional representative during the final of the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 and in the moments that followed”.

Although the kiss drew condemnation from across the footballing world and beyond, prompting Fifa to suspend him, it was another eight days before Spain’s football body called for Rubiales to stand down as its president.

But he has refused to resign, defending the kiss as “just a peck” which he claimed was consensual – which Hermoso completely denies.

“The damage caused to Spanish football, to Spanish sport, to Spanish society and to the values of football and sport as a whole has been enormous,” the Spanish federation said...

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