Spain World Cup-winning forward Jenni Hermoso has said former national team coach Jorge Vilda told players to leave their bedroom doors open at night, so he could speak to them individually.
On Jan. 2, Hermoso gave evidence to a Madrid court investigating former Spanish football federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales after his nonconsensual kiss of the player following August’s World Cup final. He is accused of sexual assault and coercion.
Vilda — who was removed from his position in September and is now coach of Morocco — is also being investigated, along with two federation executives, over attempts to pressure Hermoso to back Rubiales.
In an interview with Spanish TV show “Planeta Calleja” to be broadcast Monday, Hermoso detailed some of the squad’s complaints about Vilda, which led a number of senior players to boycott the national team ahead of last summer’s tournament.
“When we went to bed, we had to leave the door open and wait for [Vilda] to stop by at night, and let him talk to us,” Hermoso said, in a clip released Friday ahead of the programme.
“He used to say it was the only moment he had to talk to us, personally. From when he’d knock on the door of the first players, until he got to the last, maybe some players would have gone to sleep.”
“When we went shopping, he’d wait for us and ask us what we had in the bag,” Hermoso added.
Vilda has also denied putting pressure on Hermoso to downplay the incident, as well as any inappropriate behaviour with his players.
“I have spent 17 years fighting for women’s football, for the values of respect, equality, teamwork and sporting behaviour,” Vilda told Cadena SER radio in September.
Rubiales’ kiss sparked widespread criticism of his behaviour in the aftermath of Spain’s World Cup final win.
The former RFEF president was eventually banned from all football-related activities for three years by FIFA and faces the criminal investigation in Madrid. He denies the charges.
On Jan. 2, Hermoso was the last witness to give evidence to the judge who will now rule on whether Rubiales should face trial, telling the court that the kiss was “unexpected and at no time consensual.”
The forward told “Planeta Calleja” she had been aware of the likely consequences of filing a complaint against Rubiales with police.
“Yes, and it’s also clear to me that if I hadn’t done it, if I’d accepted recording a video at that time saying that nothing had happened, it was clear to me I could have had other things, off the field, which would have helped me a lot,” Hermoso said.
“But I felt the value, the strength, of above all doing something which was the right thing. That was the overriding thing in that moment.”
Hermoso announced earlier this month that she was leaving her previous club, Mexico’s Pachuca, to sign for rivals Tigres Femenil.