Spain’s Head Coach Criticizes Rubiales Over Kissing Incident but Doesn’t Resign

Spain women's soccer head coach Jorge Vilda spoke out against RFEF president Luis Rubiales for his nonconsensual kissing of Jenni Hermoso in a statement on Saturday.

"I regret deeply that the victory of Spanish women's football has been harmed by the inappropriate behaviour that our until now top leader, Luis Rubiales, has carried out and that he himself has recognized," Vilda wrote. "There is no doubt that it is unacceptable and does not reflect at all the principles and values that I defend in my life, in sport in general and in football in particular."

Vilda and Rubiales have expressed support to each other through words and actions throughout the recent publicity crisis and prior to it as well.

While every member of Vilda’s staff resigned on Saturday - citing Rubiales’ behavior - Vilda did not, digging in and saying he intends to stay on. Spain's players also announced they would refuse to play for the team as long as Rubiales is president.

Vilda was seen applauding during Rubiales's speech to the RFEF general where he said he would not resign in the wake of the recent controversy. During that speech, Rubiales also announced that the team planned to offer Vilda a four-year contract extension with an annual salary of €500,000.

Last September, 15 Spain players declared themselves unavailable for selection to the team as long as Vilda was employed as coach. The 15 players wrote a letter to Rubiales complaining about the coach's management style and incidents, according to The Guardian.

Vilda was not fired as the head coach and he later condemned the actions of the 15 players, saying he was "deeply hurt" and "would not wish anyone what I have gone through."

Among the complaints of Vilda's management style, the letters claimed that he was overly controlling and forced the players to leave their hotel room doors unlocked, according to The Athletic.

That hasn't stopped Vilda from now criticizing the actions of his current boss, who he seems intent to continue working for.