Calls for lifetime ban on coach who secretly filmed women players

"Because the Czech criminal process and the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FACR) administrative proceedings are separate and can run in parallel, the union is challenging the FA to implement a lifetime football ban for Vlachovsky and all sexual offenders. Fifpro is exploring possible legal avenues on behalf of players to achieve a global ban."

"Players spoke to Czech media publication Seznam Zpravy after Vlachovsky's sentencing, saying it had left them afraid to sleep at night and anxious about being in public in case they were being filmed."

"Fifpro reported that players of 1. FC Slovacko only learned they had been secretly filmed after the arrest. He was given a one-year suspended prison sentence in May last year, and recently a group of the victims came forward to demand further action."

Petr Vlachovsky, a highly-regarded Czech women's football coach, was convicted of secretly filming 14 female players over four years using a hidden camera in his backpack. He received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year coaching ban in the Czech Republic, despite also possessing child sexual abuse material. The youngest victim was 17 years old. Players learned of the filming only after his arrest in September 2023. Victims report severe psychological trauma, experiencing nighttime fear and public anxiety. Fifpro, the global players' union, is challenging the Czech Football Association to implement a lifetime ban and is exploring legal avenues for a global ban, arguing the sentencing was extremely lenient.

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