Over two weeks after Spain's 1–0 win over England in the Women’s World Cup final, the volatile aftermath of the tournament continues to engulf the winning nation.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) fired coach Jorge Vilda on Tuesday, parting ways with its manager of nine years as part of a national reckoning over the behavior of federation president Luis Rubiales after the final.
Vilda, 42, led Spain to its first Women’s World Cup title—but only after coming under fire in September 2022 after 15 players signed a letter pledging not to play for the national team while he remained in charge. Later, following Rubiales’s forcible kiss of midfielder Jenni Hermoso, Vilda remained noticeably silent.
