Jorge Vilda Says He Clapped for Rubiales Because Everyone Else Did

One day after he was fired by the Spanish football federation, now former women’s coach Jorge Vilda weighed in on Rubiales’ conduct in an interview released on Wednesday.

Vilda appeared on an episode of El Larguero (“The Crossbar”), a sports podcast hosted by TV and radio presenter Manu Carreño. During the interview, he responded to criticism that he applauded Rubiales during a speech he gave in late August.

“I’ve never and I will never applaud sexist actions, I will never applaud anything that goes against feminism,” Vilda said in the interview.

Rubiales, who has been under fire for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent at the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony, was initially expected to resign during a federation meeting on August 25. Instead, he doubled down, giving a speech in which he refused to step down and claimed he was the victim of a witch hunt by "false feminists."

Rubiales' assertions during his speech — as well as his promise to offer Vilda a four-year contract worth €500,000 per year — received a standing ovation from much of the audience, including Vilda.

“I think many people can see themselves reflected in a situation where there are many people, where you’re sitting in the first row, where your boss’s speech, who’s the president, is directed in large part towards you. Besides, in that moment, he’s making it public that he’s renewing your contract and he’s valuing your work, he’s recognizing your work. I applauded that," Vilda said.

"It’s very complicated not to applaud and stay seated when you’re with 140, 150 other people who stand and applaud. It’s really complicated. Although when you come out, you’re a bit in shock, you reflect and you say, “I shouldn’t have applauded at that.”

Vilda added that he was happy with many of the changes that happened under Rubiales' leadership, citing that the women's team budget increased from "roughly three million" when he took the top job in 2018 to 28 million.

Vilda noted that the team now has a larger technical staff, including cooks and a nutritionist, and travels with charter flights.

“That’s what I was applauding,” Vilda said. “It’s clear that I didn’t applaud the gestures in Sydney or many of the words said there.”

Vilda refuted reports that he put pressure on Hermoso and her family to make a statement in support of Rubiales. (A federation statement initially attributed to her, where she called the kiss “no big deal,” was later revealed to be false.)

“Jenni knows I’ve always been on her side. She feels it. We’ve had a lot of conversations during this World Cup. She’s been a key piece on the team,” Vilda said. “The truth is I’m super proud of what she’s done.”

Vilda also addressed his own controversial tenure as head coach. Last year, 15 Spanish players (known in Spain as “Las 15”) sent an email to the RFEF saying that they would not participate with the Spanish national team until changes were made. Vilda’s coaching tactics was specifically mentioned as a point of issue, although most players did not explicitly ask for him to resign or be removed.

In the podcast interview, Vilda said that he offered to resign, but Rubiales said no.

Hermoso was not one of “Las 15” who signed the email, but expressed support and attended a meeting with Rubiales to address the issues. She was also left off Spain’s roster along with Las 15, but was brought back on for the World Cup along with three of the 15 players.

Hermoso officially filed a criminal complaint against Rubiales on Wednesday.

Jody Serrano contributed translation assistance.