Fifteen players give up going to Spain if Vilda continues as coach

New earthquake in the women’s soccer team. Throughout this Thursday, fifteen international players sent the same email to the Spanish Football Federation (FEF), in which they communicated their decision to renounce being called up while Jorge Vilda continues as coach. It is the second pulse that the soccer players maintain after the one caused at the beginning of the month, when the vast majority of the players summoned for the duels against Hungary and Ukraine demanded the dismissal of the coach. A gap that, far from closing with the passing of days, has widened.

This group of fifteen players, according to Cope’s ‘El Great Match’, is made up of Patri Guijarro, Sandra Paños, Mapi León, Claudia Pina, Aitana and Mariona from FC Barcelona; Moraza and Lola Gallardo from Atlético de Madrid, Amaiur and Eizagirre from Real Sociedad, Leila and Laia Aleixandri from Manchester City, Ona Batlle and Lucía García from Manchester United and Andrea Pereira from Club América. However, no Real Madrid player is on that list (eight attended the last call), nor are Barcelona players Alexia Putellas (injured for the entire season) and Irene Paredes, who is also captain of the national team.

The federation chaired by Luis Rubiales did not hide its anger at this new pulse of the players, stated that it will not admit “any kind of pressure” and confirmed its support for the coach. “These types of maneuvers are far from exemplary and outside the values ​​of football and sport and are harmful,” he said in a statement. The FEF recalled that not attending the call of a selection can be punished with a sanction of between two and five years of disqualification, but asserted that it will not go to that extreme. Only those players who are committed “even if they are youthful” will be called up.

Upcoming friendlies

“This fact has gone from being a sporting issue to a dignity issue. The selection is non-negotiable. It is an unprecedented situation in the history of football, both male and female, in Spain and worldwide, “said the federation, which also made clear its conditions for the unruly athletes to return with La Roja. “The soccer players who have submitted their resignation will only return to the discipline of the national team in the future if they accept their mistake and ask for forgiveness.”

This confrontation takes place just one week before Vilda announces a new call-up for the national team for friendlies against Sweden (October 7) at the Nuevo Arcángel stadium in Córdoba and the United States (October 11) at the Sadar in Pamplona. In addition, the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year (from July 20 to August 20) is also on the horizon.