Rio Ave acknowledged this Thursday that there were “circumstantial comments” from soccer players of its women’s team about “unreasonable approaches” by coach Miguel Afonso, but that the matter, at his own request, was not followed up.
“At the end of that sports season [2020/21], Rio Ave FC became aware of some circumstantial comments reported by the athletes, about alleged inappropriate approaches by the coach. Given the matter, the coach denied such situations and, at the request of the athletes, the matter was not followed up, ”reads a statement from the club.
Vila-Condense’s coat of arms assumes that he is not yet aware of “any formal and official complaint by any athlete before the authorities”, of alleged sexual harassment by the coach of footballers, reports the Público newspaper today.
“Despite the positive performance of the team in that sports season, Rio Ave FC understood that the management of the group and the methodologies were not consensual and adequate, and the conditions for the continuity of the coach were not met, so the relationship with the same ”, says the club, which in the 2020/21 season secured promotion to the II division.
Rio Ave also affirms that “it has always been intransigent with certain values, which it does not renounce, such as gender equality and treatment, respect, citizenship and professional and human ethics, not finding itself in any situation that supposedly fits with the topic of the news.
The Disciplinary Council (CD) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) will open disciplinary proceedings against alleged cases of sexual harassment by the current coach of the Famalicão women’s team, an official source from the organization confirmed to Lusa today.
Questioned by Lusa, the same source reported on the beginning of the disciplinary procedure, after the news headlined by the newspaper Público today, and added that the FPF has a channel for anonymous complaints of this type of case or other illicit acts, such as manipulation of results or support for illegal immigration.
Several soccer players who played in Rio Ave in 2020/21 denounced, in the news published today, 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 the 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.
Questioned by Público, the technician declined to comment on the complaints. The Lusa agency tried to contact Miguel Afonso, without success.
The Disciplinary Regulations of the FPF provide, from July 1, the date of its last update, for the sanction of cases of sexual harassment by coaches, in article 126.º-B.
“The manager who harasses a sports agent by adopting unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal or physical, is sanctioned with a suspension of three months to one year,” reads the aforementioned article, which, according to the point 183rd of the same document, extends its coverage to all other unspecified sports agents — in cases of player infractions, 150th-A applies.
Source: TSF
