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Spanish women's football team coach sacked amid kiss scandal
Louise Greenwood
Dismissed coach Jorge Vilda celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Cup. /Carl Recine/Reuters
Dismissed coach Jorge Vilda celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Cup. /Carl Recine/Reuters

Dismissed coach Jorge Vilda celebrates with the trophy after winning the World Cup. /Carl Recine/Reuters

Spain's football federation RFEF has sacked Jorge Vilda, the coach of its World Cup-winning women's team. 

The move comes amid continued fallout from the allegedly non-consensual kiss of a player by suspended federation chief Luis Rubiales during the World Cup victory celebrations in Sydney on August 20.

Montse Tomé has been appointed as his replacement, the first woman to hold the post. 

The new RFEF board, formed after Rubiales's suspension, confirmed that Vilda has been dismissed from his post. In a statement it thanked the 42-year-old for his "extraordinary sporting legacy," saying he "has been key to the remarkable growth of women's football and leaves Spain as world champions and second in the FIFA rankings."

While Rubiales claims the kiss, seen around the world on live television, was "mutual, euphoric and consensual," recipient Jenni Hermoso maintains that she did not agree. The Spanish forward called it "an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part."

The scandal has turned into a national debate in Spain over the treatment of women. The RFEF initially backed Rubiales but has issued an apology for his "totally unacceptable" behavior.

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Last week prosecutors in Madrid opened a criminal investigation into the conduct of Rubiales, who has been banned from making any further contact with Hermoso. He has also been provisionally suspended by football's world governing body FIFA.

While Vilda and the men's team coach Luis de La Fuente applauded Rubiales when he refused to resign on August 25, they both later issued statements condemning his actions. The RFEF's regional presidents' committee last week called for Vilda's dismissal to follow.

Tomé , 41, is a former Spanish international midfielder who played for Barcelona. 

Vilda had been under pressure since last year when 15 players called for his resignation, claiming his coaching methods were inadequate. Most were subsequently cut from the World Cup squad. Complaints of unequal pay, a culture of sexism and intrusive treatment by Vilda followed.

Spanish women's football team coach sacked amid kiss scandal

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