Jorge Vilda explains why he went to talk to Jenni Hermoso's brother

BarcelonaThe former coach of the Spanish women's football team, Jorge Vilda, has been the star of the seventh day of statements in the trial for the non-consensual kiss between Luis Rubiales and Jenni Hermoso. Vilda, who began working for the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in 2006, took over the reins of the team in 2015 and was dismissed on September 5 due to the scandal surrounding the forced kiss by the former president of the RFEF.

Vilda made the longest statement today in a day in which Albert Luque, the RFEF's sports director throughout the conflict, and Rubén Rivera, the federation's former marketing director, also participated. The former coach denied that he saw the kiss because "during the medal ceremony he was second to last in line." Regarding how, after the kiss, the ball was getting bigger, Vilda said: "I heard some comments during the celebration [on the pitch], but nobody gave the slightest importance to the kiss." And she added: "At that time I was also informed that my daughter had had abdominal pain, and they had to attend to the doctors. I was in the locker room for very little time. I attended to my daughter and the press conference after the final."

The former national team coach said that it was on the plane where he began to be aware of "all the media hype that was being made." "On the flight, there was talk about what could be done to stop all that fuss. The possibility of making a joint statement was studied. The press people [from the RFEF] were very active," said Vilda, who had Rubiales a couple of seats ahead of her. "Rubiales did not ask me to speak to Jenni's brother. I did it on my own initiative. Seeing the media relevance that the kiss had, I began to worry, because more importance was being given to the kiss than to the great success we had achieved. I was excited. My concern was to think that the team was fine."

Asked why he did not go to speak directly with Hermoso, the coach defended himself: "I was worried about her situation, but I did not go to speak to her so as not to bother her. She was with her friends, celebrating. I wanted to respect that." Vilda added that "since the World Cup" he has not spoken to her. "She said here that she was hurt because I had not asked her how she was. I should have done so. During the celebration, everything was joy. No one had any alarm bells ringing [during a plane ride of more than 20 hours back to Spain]."

The contradictions in Jorge Vilda's statement

This is when Vilda started to get involved. "Jennifer was behind me. I didn't see her crying, but she did have a worried look on her face, looking at her phone. On my own initiative, I went to talk to her brother to try to normalise the situation, thinking about the future and my national team." But why did she go to talk to Hermoso's brother and not to her? "Because after 20 years in the profession, I know how media pressure affects it. I speak with her brother about how all the media pressure could affect Jenni. When I speak with the brother [on the plane], I warn the president. He [the brother] was sleeping, where I could talk the most with his brother and Vitoriano [a close friend of Hermoso and who Vilda then says she did not know]. We have a conversation of no more than five minutes. We talk a little about football and how good her sister had been [Rubiales' brother]

The mess is because Vilda says she went to speak with Rafa Hermoso, the brother, on her own initiative, but at the same time she has admitted that she alerted Rubiales before and after the conversation, to tell him that Hermoso's brother would try to talk to her. She also admitted that she told the footballer if they could "find a formula to normalize the situation": "I did not specify if it was a video or some other type of communication." This is what she wanted Rubiales, to calm the waters regarding a scandal that was growing in the media by leaps and bounds. "He [the brother] didn't tell me that she had refused. He told me that he would speak to her," said Vilda regarding the possibility of making this communication, questioned about why he asked the brother that Hermoso participate in some kind of public message when he had already refused and the former coach knew it. "I wanted to normalize the situation. Thinking about Jenni and the media pressure that would affect her and the team. I spoke to her brother because he was calmer, colder. I didn't talk to him about Rubiales."

Vilda also denied that he tried to coerce her through her brother. "I didn't tell her that [not making a public statement with the RFEF] would affect her career, that it would have personal or family consequences. I never told her brother this. I only conveyed my concern about what that media burden could convey to Jenni," the coach said, contradicting the accusation's version. "Nobody, not from the club or from the club, told her that she was not going to be a part of the team."staff, nor any of her family, told me that Jenni felt pressured [during the return flight and the stairs to Doha]. What I thought, because I was a bit grimacing, was that she didn't like everything she was reading in the media, like everyone else," Vilda defended in a statement that leaves a few shadows.