Pauw not suspended, heavy punishment from other coaches after foul in US women’s soccer

Four soccer coaches have been suspended for life for misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League, NWSL. The sanctions were imposed following a report on abuse in the highest professional women’s soccer league in the United States.

Vera Pauw was also mentioned in the report. The current Ireland national coach is not suspended and could return to American football competition under certain conditions.

The coaches who will never again be allowed to work in American women’s soccer are Paul Riley (Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage), Rory Dames (Chicago Red Stars), Richie Burke (Washington Spirit) and Christy Holly (Racing Louisville).

The wide-ranging investigation was opened after two players had Riley, 59, accused of sexual abuse. The report released last year found that more than half of U.S. professional women’s soccer clubs reported systematic sexual misconduct, abuse of power and emotional abuse.

Two other former coaches, Craig Harrington (Utah Royals) and Alyse LaHue (Gotham FC), have been suspended for two years.

Six other coaches mentioned in the report, including Pauw, are allowed to return as coaches in the NWSL, but under certain conditions. They must acknowledge that they have made mistakes, take personal responsibility for the misconduct and undergo special training.

According to the report, as the coach of Houston Dash in 2018, Pauw was guilty of making comments about – in her view – the obesity of certain players. She also allegedly tried to exercise excessive control over the eating habits of football players.

The former Dutch women’s national coach strongly denies all accusations.

The report says that although Pauw appeared before the investigation team, she refused to cooperate and limited herself to a written denial.

According to Peacock it was different“Of course I cooperated. Directly. I only wanted to record the conversation. I was there alone in front of four members of the research team. They then unilaterally stopped the conversation. That’s why I wrote my story. Because I wanted to cooperate and be open.”

The NWSL also imposed heavy fines on six American clubs. The highest fines are for Chicago Red Stars ($1.5 million) and Portland Thorns ($1 million).

The American players union is satisfied with the sanctions. “Today a new NWSL begins,” President Toni Hustler said.

“No amount of punishment will ever be enough to undo the suffering endured by too many players,” Hustler said.

“Regaining power, the players have achieved a complete overhaul of the NWSL ecosystem, from league management to club owners and staff, with new policies to protect player safety.”