Soccer: Mass resignation by email in Spain’s women’s national team

As of 10:13 a.m| Reading time: 3 minutes

EIt’s been rumbling in the Spanish women’s national team for a long time. It was first announced at the end of August that several players had approached association president Luis Rubiales and demanded that national coach Jorge Vilda resign. At the beginning of September there was a meeting with the team and the coach. A large majority within the team is said to have expressed the wish during the conversation that the 41-year-old should please quit his job. Alone: ​​Vilda stayed.

He had made it clear that he did not want to simply give up his contract, which ran until 2024. Vilda’s contract had only been extended by two years just before this summer’s European Championships in England, from which the Spaniards were due to be eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Now the struggle between players and coaches has escalated, there was a mutiny by email. An unprecedented event. The national association RFEF had to announce that 15 players had resigned with emails with the same wording during the course of Thursday.

A number of regular players resigned

The situation affected her “significantly in her emotional state and her health,” it said. “Until the reversal” of the grievances, i.e. the dismissal of Vilda and his assistants, they would no longer play for the national team. Senders included a number of players who had been in the starting XI in the preliminary round match against Germany (0:2) at the European Championship. The currently injured world footballer Alexia Putellas should not belong to the group of insurgents and according to information from the Spanish radio station Cope still belong to the group of the national team.

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The association, in turn, wants to hold on to Vilda under all circumstances. The RFEF said the players “are not allowed to question the continuity of the national team coach and his coaching staff as such decisions are not within their purview”. What they had initiated “does not correspond to the values ​​​​of football” and is “even harmful”.

There was a revolt in 2015

The situation is muddled. According to current Spanish law, the players face a ban of two to five years. And the association has already outlined a plan to close the gap. If necessary, the national team should now be filled with youth players. Prerequisite: You must be “committed,” said the RFEF, which is “a matter of dignity.”

However, history is repeating itself now. In 2015, Vilda succeeded Ignacio Quereda, who resigned after 27 years as women’s national coach. However, not voluntarily. Even before returning home from the World Cup, the team had published a letter signed by all 23 players, in which the preparations were sharply criticized and the coach was to be replaced. Quereda then drew the consequences.

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