Hermoso accuses ex-Spain coach Vilda of controlling behaviour،
Spain's World Cup-winning striker Jenni Hermoso says former national team coach Jorge Vilda asked players to leave their bedroom doors open at night so he could speak to them individually .
On January 2, Hermoso testified before a Madrid court investigating former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales after his non-consensual kiss with the player after the World Cup final in August. He is accused of sexual assault and coercion.
Vilda – who was dismissed in September and is now Morocco coach – is also under investigation, along with two federation leaders, for attempts to pressure Hermoso into supporting Rubiales.
In an interview with Spanish TV show “Planeta Calleja” to be broadcast on Monday, Hermoso detailed some of the team's complaints about Vilda, which led a number of senior players to boycott the national team ahead of the tournament last summer.
“When we went to bed, we had to leave the door open and wait [Vilda] spend the night and let him talk to us,” Hermoso said in a clip released Friday ahead of the program.
“He used to say that it was the only time he had to talk to us personally. From the moment he knocked on the first players' doors to the last one, maybe some players would have fallen asleep.”
“When we went shopping, he would wait for us and ask us what we had in the bag,” Hermoso added.
Vilda also denied pressuring Hermoso to downplay the incident, as well as any inappropriate behavior with his players.
“I spent 17 years fighting for women's football, for the values of respect, equality, teamwork and sporting behavior,” Vilda told Cadena SER radio in September.
Rubiales' kiss sparked widespread criticism of his behavior in the aftermath of Spain's victory in the World Cup final.
The former RFEF president was ultimately banned from all football-related activity for three years by FIFA and faces a criminal investigation in Madrid. He denies the accusations.
On January 2, Hermoso was the last witness to testify before the judge who will now decide whether Rubiales should stand trial, telling the court that the kiss was “unexpected and at no time consensual.”
The attacker told “Planeta Calleja” that she was aware of the likely consequences of filing a complaint against Rubiales with the police.
Yes, and it is also clear to me that if I had not done it, if I had agreed to record a video at that moment saying that nothing had happened, it would have been clear to me me that I could have had something else, off the field, which would have helped me a lot,” Hermoso said.
“But I felt the value, the strength, of doing something above all that was the right thing. It was the primary thing at that moment.”
Hermoso announced earlier this month that she was leaving her former club, Mexican side Pachuca, to join rivals Tigres Femenil.
