Some stories are deeply disturbing.
Not because of anything that happened on a pitch.
Nothing could be further from that statement.
This is one of those stories.
And UEFA have now delivered the only appropriate response.
UEFA issue lifetime ban to former women’s coach who secretly filmed players
According to the BBC, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, prohibiting him from ever participating in any football-related activity again.
This comes after finding him in breach of regulations covering indecent behaviour and bringing the game into disrepute.
The CEDB has also asked FIFA to extend the ban worldwide, and has ordered the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Vlachovsky’s coaching licence entirely.
The details of what he did are harrowing.
Vlachovsky coached girls and women at top-tier Czech side 1. FC Slovacko for almost 15 years.
A period during which, investigators found, he secretly filmed 14 players in changing rooms and showers over a four-year period.
He hid a camera inside a backpack.
The youngest player filmed was 17 years old.
The Czech boss was arrested in September 2023 after police discovered the covertly recorded footage online.
In addition to the filming, Vlachovsky was also found in possession of CSAM.
A Czech court handed him a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year coaching ban.
UEFA’s investigation went further.
However, the lifetime ban it has issued carries no end date and no pathway back.
Earlier this year, a group of victims came forward publicly to demand further action.
The betrayal is total.
And the position of authority he held made what he did much worse.
FIFPRO welcomed UEFA’s decision in a formal statement.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football,” the organisation said.
The message is clear.
And thankfully, the ban is permanent.
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