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The Spanish Football Federation has sacked the coach who helped the country’s women’s football team to World Cup glory amid an inappropriate kissing scandal by suspended president Luis Rubiales.
Coach Jorge Verda, who was close to disgraced federation president Rubiales, was sacked on Tuesday by the Royal Spanish Federation, which praised his “impeccable” conduct in a positive statement.
Instead of mentioning Rubiales, who was suspended by FIFA as president, kissed player Jeanne Hermoso on the lips at the awards ceremony after the final, the federation focused instead on Verda’s achievements in coaching the women’s team. supreme achievement”.
Vilda is close to Rubiales and has repeatedly expressed his gratitude for his support, including during a tumultuous period last year when 15 female players turned against Vilda over his management style. Most of these players have been left out of the World Cup squad. Spain beat England 1-0 in last month’s final in Sydney, Australia.
In a speech days after the final, Rubiales, who called himself a victim of “false feminism” and refused to resign over the non-consensual kiss, publicly told Velda that he would serve another four years. work and earn EUR 500,000 per year. “You deserve it,” Rubiales said.
Rubiales’ actions have sparked debate about toxic masculinity and the way football’s leading figures treat female players, who are paid a fraction of what top men earn. On the eve of the final, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was heavily criticized for advising women to “pick the right fights” to achieve equality on issues such as pay.
The move by the FA, led by interim president Pedro Rocha, reflects its desire to distance itself from the scandal, even as the Spanish government still faces obstacles in its bid to permanently oust Rubiales.
In a statement after Rubiales’ provocative speech, Verda said: “I deeply regret that the victory of the Spanish women’s football team was marred by the misconduct of our former president, Luis Rubiales, who I also admit it.”
But Verda has not apologized for standing up and applauding Rubiales during his speech.
“The Spanish Football Federation expresses its gratitude to Jorge Verda for his service, professionalism and dedication over the years and wishes him the best for the future,” the federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
World football’s governing body FIFA has suspended Rubiales as president of Spanish football for 90 days. But the Spanish government does not have the power to fire him and efforts to permanently deport him by filing a complaint with the Court of Sport have hit a snag.
FIFA has committed to equal prize money for the men’s World Cup in 2026 and the women’s World Cup in 2027. Players union Fifpro is also working to improve conditions and prize money for the women’s game.
However, clubs that allocate most of their resources to and derive most of their revenue from men’s football pay women far less than men.A 2022 FIFA report found that the average salary of a paid female soccer player is Only $14,000 per year.
Infantino has warned that paying equal prize money at the World Cup is only part of the problem that must be solved to achieve equality.
“It happens every four years and it’s just a few players out of tens of thousands,” the FIFA president said. “We need to go for equality, but we have to actually do it.”
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