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Accused of sexual harassment, the Spanish football federation fires the coach of the women's national team

Accused of sexual harassment, the Spanish football federation fires the coach of

The Spanish soccer federation fired women's national team coach Jorge Vilda just three weeks after Spain won the World Cup, amid controversy surrounding suspended soccer federation president Luis Rubiales.
Coach Vilda was among those who backed Mr Rubiales when he refused to resign, despite the heavy criticism he faced after kissing Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her permission during victory celebrations in Sydney last month.
Mr Rubiales, who also made an obscene gesture after the title win in the final, was provisionally suspended by FIFA and the Spanish government is investigating his conduct, which prompted a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation.
Then Mr. Vilda admitted that the behavior of Mr. Rubiales was inappropriate. Men's team coach Luis de la Fuente also backed Mr Rubiales' stance against what he called "fake feminists" and apologized on Friday for what he described as an "unforgivable human error."
The captains of the Spanish men's national team condemned Mr Rubiales' "unacceptable behaviour" on Monday in a show of support for the women's team, which won the World Cup.
Mr Vilda was in charge of the team during the World Cup although some of the players spoke out against him in a crisis last year that put his job at risk. Fifteen players left the national team due to mental health and called for a more professional environment. Only three of them returned to the team that won the World Cup.
Mr. Vilda was strongly supported by Mr. Rubiales throughout the process.
The current president of the Spanish football federation, Pedro Rocha, published a letter on Tuesday apologizing to the football world and Spanish society in general for Mr Rubiales' behaviour.
Mr Rocha said the federation had a responsibility to apologize "sincerely to the world of football as a whole," as well as football institutions, fans, players - especially the women's national team - "for the completely unacceptable behavior of its highest representative .”
"His behavior does not at all represent the values ​​of Spanish society in general, its institutions, representatives, athletes and Spanish sports leaders," wrote Mr. Rocha./voa

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