Barcelona Women’s Soccer Players Snubbed by RFEF
The drama between Barcelona’s women’s soccer team has continued into the new year following problems with national team coach Jorge Vilda last fall. The Royal Spanish Football Federation — or RFEF for short — seems to be punishing players who spoke out against Vilda last year. The latest scene took place at the final of the Spanish Women’s Super Cup.
Issues between the RFEF and Spain’s women’s soccer players continue as the Vilda dispute drags on. Rhett Lewis/Unsplash
What occurred between Spanish women’s players and Jorge Vilda?
This issue started in 2022 as players on the Spanish women’s national soccer team, which has been coached by Vilda since 2015, started to make open comments about difficulties between players and their coach. The team was ousted from the Eurocup last July, despite immense promise early on, and seemed to blame the loss on decisions Vilda had made.
However, the issue deepened in September 2022 when 15 players from the team, who also represent a variety of clubs around Europe, sent an identical email to the RFEF to complain about the negative atmosphere created by Vilda.
The letter did not cite any specific instances of abusive behavior, but spoke to the negative mental and emotional health of the team. Interestingly, the women who sent the letter also did not ask directly for Vilda to be replaced, but the insinuation was quite clear. They instead said that they offered their constructive feedback in hopes of finding the best path forward for the team.
The RFEF responded sharply, standing firmly on Vilda’s side and criticizing the 15 players for their behavior. They demanded an apology from the players if they were to play again, and indeed, those who signed the letter were benched during subsequent games.
Vilda spoke out harshly, too, saying that he felt unfairly attacked. Indeed, no moves were made to replace Vilda. The players have resumed league play with their club teams, and will meet again as a national team for the Cup of Nations on February 16.
What happened at the Super Cup final?
Barcelona faced off with Real Sociedad, the traditionally Basque team from San Sebastián, for the final of the Spanish Women’s Super Cup on Sunday, January 22, 2023. Thanks to an excellent performance by the Barcelona team, and particularly Aitana Bonmati and Asisat Oshoala who clinched the game, Barcelona took home the cup for the second year in a row.
This puts Barcelona in the position to pull off a triple win of the Super Cup, Copa de la Reina (Spain’s primary female soccer tournament) and the UWCL. The team regularly wins or makes it to the semi-finals of major tournaments, but this did not protect them from unusual behavior from the RFEF after the latest match.
During the medal ceremony after their win, rather than being greeted by the RFEF president and having their awards given to them, the team had to pick up the medals themselves. It was an awkward sight that prompted many complaints among the public who watched the events unfold.
In response, the RFEF issued a statement about the ceremony, blaming it on a simple logistical issue. They said:
“In relation to the award ceremony in the women’s Spanish Super Cup this Sunday, the RFEF wants to clarify the following question. In accordance with the RFEF award protocols, and taking into account both the high number of institutional representation, as well as the infrastructure for access to the box from the stadium grass, the protocol department decided to run the delivery ceremony in the box in the same way that it is carried out in the Copa del Rey: delivery of the Cup to the champion team captain, and delivery of medals to the winning team on grass or in the locker room. This is the same award ceremony that took place in the last edition of the Women’s Super Cup in 2022.”
Players from both Real Sociedad and Barcelona, as well as Manchester United’s Ona Batlle and Lucia Garcia, had sent the identical email complaint about Vilda. The RFEF’s behavior was seen as a snub and an effort to avoid being photographed with any of the complaining players.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported on this and said that an official was summoned to give a special award to Bonmati, who was named “Player of the Match” and also was one of the 15 to send the complaint email. However, it was a short ceremony without much fanfare, and players present seemed to look downtrodden.
