The coach of Spain's World Cup-winning women's soccer team was fired Tuesday, less than three weeks after the victory celebration that led to the suspension of the country's soccer federation president for kissing a player.
The Spanish soccer federation offered no immediate explanation for the dismissal, saying only that Jorge Vilda was “key to the notable growth of women’s soccer” and thanking him for leading the national team to the World Cup title and to No. 2 in the FIFA rankings — its highest ever position.
Vilda was among those who at first applauded federation president Luis Rubiales when he refused to resign despite facing widespread criticism for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the title celebrations last month in Sydney.
One of Vilda's assistant coaches, Montse Tomé, was appointed to replace him. She will be the first woman to hold the job.
Rubiales, who also grabbed his crotch in a lewd victory gesture after the final game, has been provisionally suspended by FIFA and faces a Spanish government case against him for the conduct that prompted a storm of criticism and led to widespread calls for his resignation.
Vilda later said Rubiales’ behavior was improper. Men’s soccer coach Luis de la Fuente also initially applauded Rubiales for a diatribe against what he called “false feminists.” De la Fuente later apologized and said his applause was an “inexcusable" human error.
Vilda, who was also relieved of his job as sporting director, had been at the helm of the women’s team since 2015. Less than a year ago, some players rebelled against him in a crisis that put his job in jeopardy.
Fifteen players stepped away from the national team, citing their mental health, and demanded a more professional environment. Only three returned to the squad that won the World Cup.
Vilda was heavily backed by Rubiales throughout the process.
In a statement announcing the firing, the soccer federation expressed its gratitude to Vilda “for the services provided, for his professionalism and his dedication during all these years.”
Vilda "leaves the federation with an extraordinary sporting legacy thanks to the implementation of a recognized game model and a methodology that has been an engine of growth for all the women’s categories of the national team,” the statement said.
During the team’s titles celebration in Madrid after the World Cup, Vilda received a lukewarm welcome from fans. He had been jeered by some during a viewing party during the final match.
The World Cup title was Spain's first since the men’s team won its lone trophy at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. It was only the third World Cup appearance by the women’s team.
The team, known as La Roja, got to the knockout round four years ago but lost to eventual champion the United States. It had not advanced past a major semifinal since the 1997 European Championship.
The president currently in charge of the Spanish soccer federation, Pedro Rocha, released a letter Tuesday apologizing to the soccer world and to society in general for Rubiales’ behavior.
Rocha said the federation had the responsibility to ask for “the most sincere apologies to the soccer world as a whole,” especially to fans and players of the women’s national team, “for the totally unacceptable behavior of its highest representative.”
In no way did his behavior represent "the values of Spanish society as a whole, its institutions, its representatives, its athletes and the Spanish sports leaders,” Rocha wrote.
In other developments, the captains of the Spanish men’s national team on Monday condemned Rubiales’ “unacceptable behavior” in a show of support for the women’s team.
The drama surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic continues after he was deported from Australia over the weekend due to the nation's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Djokovic was forced to leave the country on the eve of what was to be his first match in defense of his Australian Open title after three judges ruled in favor of his removal and revealed their reasoning for doing so. Adding to his woes, a law recently passed in France is putting his chances of defending his French Open title in jeopardy. The director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication, Jane McManus, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fallout.
Alex Silverman, senior reporter covering the business of sports at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News to discuss why the number of those betting on sports doubled in 2021 and what's next for the industry in 2022.
If you have not placed your buffalo wings order yet, hurry up. The biggest weekend in NFL playoff history kicks off in just under 48 hours with six games being played over three days. Sports Analyst at Yahoo Sports Pamela Maldonado joined Cheddar to give us a preview ahead of the Super Wild Card Weekend.
With the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing rapidly approaching, clouds of controversy continue to swirl around China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority population, its surveillance state, and security for visiting athletes. Phelim Kine, China correspondent for Politico, joined Cheddar to break down the big storylines surrounding the Beijing Games and highlight what he saw as the complete disregard by top corporate sponsors like P&G, Airbnb, Intel, Visa, and Coca-Cola, for the controversies. "They spend $100 million for every Olympics that they sponsor, and they have frankly shown absolute willful indifference to any type of entreaty to essentially be more vocal about their concerns about human rights in China," he said. Kine also touched on the data privacy fears for athletes as visiting contingents are being told to carry burner phones to avoid security risks.
NFL games continue to be among some of the highest-rated programs on television. In 2021, viewership jumped 10 percent from the previous year to an average of 17.1 million as the league debuted its first 18-week season after running on a 16-week schedule since 1978. Fans — and team owners — welcomed the change with open arms, but a vocal percentage of players were not as ecstatic (despite the union signing off). Those who were against adding games cited health and safety concerns as their main reason. While the extended season means fatter pockets for the league, the opposition asks: is it worth the risk? Cheddar's JD Durkin breaks it all down.
With the Australian Open set to begin on Monday, Novak Djokovic is once again being threatened with deportation from Australia after his visa was briefly reinstated and revoked again over alleged discrepancies. Djokovic’s team will sit for an Immigration hearing on Saturday.
Decorated skier Lindsey Vonn did not hold back when touching on mental health in "Rise," her new memoir. "My mental health is definitely part of my story," she said. "Now I'm just thankful that this conversation is so much more talked about — Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Kevin Love, Michael Phelps, all have been outspoken about it." She noted that she felt happy that readers, particularly kids, get to see a vulnerable side to her in the book. The gold medalist also went on to note what she's most looking forward to watching in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
It was 'game on' for sports bettors in the state of New York, as mobile betting kicked off on four major betting operating platforms Saturday. This comes at an exciting time for sports fans with some of the biggest NFL games of the season right around the corner. Cam Rogers - Host of Lock It In with Cam Rogers, Betting Analyst at the Bleav Podcast Network joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Former wide receiver for the New York Giants, Victor Cruz has partnered with Krystal Restaurants, a popular burger chain in the South, to bring the franchise to his home state of New Jersey. Cruz and Alice Crowder, CMO of Krystal Restaurants, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the venture. The five new locations will be known as "Victor Cruz's Krystal," decked out with memorabilia from his football career, with the former player explaining how "hands-on" he plans on being. "You never know, OK? You might walk in and Victor Cruz will be flipping a burger back there, and you might be getting it directly from the source," he said.
