The Royal Spanish Football Federation revealed that 15 players in the national team refused to play with the team due to the impact on their "emotional" and "health", and demanded the dismissal of the national team coach, Jorge Vilda.
Filda had concluded an agreement to remain in the coach of the Spanish women's team until 2024, and Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Federation, has not yet sacked the coach, despite the demand to do so since earlier this September.
The Spanish Federation received an e-mail from a number of female players, in which they refuse to play until they reverse the decision to keep Filda in the position, in light of the situation that affects their “emotional” and “health” state.
The Spanish newspaper "SPORT" described the players' crisis with their coach as a "tsunami that hits Spanish football."
Despite the apparent dissatisfaction with Felda's leadership, the team has already qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
But a large number of Spain's female players are currently refusing to play while Felda is in office.
The Spanish federation responded by emphasizing that the players, whose names have not been revealed, will not be called up to the national team again until they "realize their mistake".
"The Spanish Federation will not allow players to question the continuity of the national team coach and his support staff, because making these decisions is not within their powers," the Spanish Federation said in its statement.
"The federation will not accept any kind of pressure from any player in terms of sporting matters. This kind of maneuvering is very far from the values of football and sport and is also harmful," he added.
"According to the current regulations, failure to meet the call-up for the national team is classified as a serious violation and may result in exclusion penalties for a period ranging from two to five years," the federation continued.