September 23, (THEWILL) – The Spanish women’s national team members have issued a united statement to make it clear that they have neither resigned from the team nor called for manager Jorge Vilda to be fired.
The existing environment within the national team was damaging to the well-being of 15 Spanish players, who submitted their resignation through email, the RFEF revealed on Thursday.
In a statement, the RFEF vowed not to give in to the protesting players’ demands and stressed that those who refuse to represent their country in international competition risk receiving penalties of up to five years.
But, Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona, Ona Batlle of Manchester United, Laia Aleixandri of Manchester City, and Alexia Putellas, the injured UEFA Player of the Year, are just a few Spanish players who have issued similar statements on social media criticising the RFEF for making their private email public, criticising the tone of the statement, and outlining their position.
According to these players, statement, they temporarily removed themselves from consideration for selection until “situations that affect our emotional and personal state are reversed,” and not that they entirely resigned from the national team.
