The Union of Professional Soccer Players (SJPF) said this Thursday that it was unaware of the case of alleged sexual harassment by the current Famalicão coach of the Rio Ave players, but it is not surprising that it happens.
“We were not aware of this case denounced by Público, but it does not surprise us, given the dimension of the problem of sexual harassment in football. We learned of other cases in the past, which we immediately referred to the competent authorities.” , said the president of the SJPF, in a statement sent to the Lusa agency.
Several soccer players who played in Rio Ave in 2020/21 denounced, in the news published this Thursday, harassment actions by the then coach of the Vila do Conde club, currently in charge of Famalicão, of the Women’s League, after having been last season in Ovarense.
Also according to the newspaper, Miguel Afonso, 40, exchanged intimate messages with players from the Foz do Ave shield, between 18 and 20 years old.
A source from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) confirmed to Lusa the opening of a process by the Disciplinary Council (CD) for alleged cases of sexual harassment of the current coach of the Famalicão women’s team.
Joaquim Evangelista admits that he is not surprised by the existence of this case or similar situations, and points out that “above all, there is a lot of fear on the part of the players and mistrust in the complaint mechanisms.”
“For fear of retaliation or public exposure, they end up keeping quiet. Unfortunately, sexual harassment is trivialized and if there is no firm response from the leaders when they find out about the suspicions, it ends up going unpunished. Responses necessary for the fight”. , stressed the trade unionist.
Ensuring the legal and psychological support of the SJPF, Evangelista regrets that this type of behavior is “normalized.”
“This type of approach is culturally accepted, whoever makes the complaint often ends up being responsible […]players do not trust existing reporting mechanisms […] and the truth is that until this year there was no specific disciplinary framework for harassment, which made the effectiveness of the procedures after the complaint even more difficult, ”he points out.
The SJPF applauded the Government’s initiative to include gender equality on the “agenda” of the last National Sports Council and highlighted that the structure it leads was part of a European project to combat and prevent cases of harassment, advocating for “a firm disciplinary framework”. that allows to sanction not only the aggressors but also those who colluded and omitted these situations from the competent authorities”.
“It must be said that harassment does not only occur in women’s sports, but that it has a very significant expression in this context, so we are aware that the national strategy to promote the practice of women’s sports cannot ignore the attack on this problem that compromises safety and certainly leads many young women and their families to give up the sport”, concluded the president of the SJPF
Finally, Joaquim Evangelista assures the articulation of the union, the guardianship and the FPF in the “need to attack the problem”.
Source: TSF
