Former Leeds United chief endures 'monumental scolding' as 2,000 fans 'loudly boo' during reserve game
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Former Leeds United sporting director Victor Orta is coming under intense pressure to resign from his role at Sevilla with fan discontent reaching new levels over the weekend.
Orta returned to Sevilla last summer after resigning from his Elland Road post in May, following the decision to sack Javi Gracia as manager and replace him with Sam Allardyce for the final four games. But the Spanish side have struggled ever since, with last season’s 14th-place finish their lowest since relegation from La Liga in 2000.
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Hide AdSevilla burned through three managers last season and appointed a fourth in June, with Francisco Pimienta in post since, but any early hope of a clean slate has quickly diminished with just two wins from their opening seven games. A third defeat of the season came at Alaves on Saturday and Mundo Deportivo reports of an extraordinary show of dissent by supporters the following day.
Sporting director Orta was present at the Jesus Navas Stadium on Sunday to watch Sevilla’s reserves play Antequera, but so were 2,000 home fans who ‘loudly booed and jeered’ as the former Leeds recruitment chief surfaced in the directors’ box. There were also consistent chants for the board to resign in what the Spanish outlet describes as a ‘monumental scolding’.
Fan anger amid another dismal start to the season is being aimed mostly at Orta and club president, José María del Nido Carrasco, who they deem responsible for building the current squad. Sevilla had a busy summer with some well-known names including Kelechi Iheanacho and Albert Sambi Lokonga arriving at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, albeit they are yet to bear fruit.
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Hide AdSevilla have given themselves a slight cushion by beating third-bottom Valladolid on Tuesday, but Orta and his colleagues are only ever one poor result away from further protests. And Sunday was not the first instance of dissent, with loud calls for wholesale resignations ahead of last season’s final-day defeat against Barcelona and flags bearing Orta’s face with a pig snout edited over it.
Leeds were never as visceral in their protests but made their feelings on Orta clear as the club fell towards relegation, having enjoyed such a promising first season back in the Premier League. The former Whites sporting director garnered credit for his appointment of Marcelo Bielsa but was criticised for his Premier League squad-building capabilities.
Anger towards Orta and former owner Andrea Radrizzani has only intensified after their respective departures, with Leeds falling victim to a number of loan exit clauses last summer that were inserted on their watch. And once again this summer, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter saw release clauses triggered, with Daniel Farke regularly mentioning ‘sins of the past’ in press conferences.