European football's governing body UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women's football coach who secretly filmed his players. The decision was announced Tuesday by UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) following an investigation into allegations of misconduct.

The CEDB banned Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” and requested FIFA to extend the ban worldwide. It also ordered the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Vlachovsky's coaching license.

Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko's players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17. According to the indictment, Vlachovsky confessed and expressed regret.

Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women's Under-19 team. A spokesperson for FC Slovacko told Reuters: “This is a deeply serious and distressing matter which came to light in 2023 and had a significant impact on our club, and above all on the players affected. From the moment we became aware of the allegations, the club acted immediately, terminated its cooperation with the former coach, and cooperated with the relevant authorities.”

Football players' union FIFPRO welcomed the ban and UEFA's request for FIFA to impose an international ban. FIFPRO stated: “This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the wellbeing of players must remain a priority at every level of the game.”

Source: www.aljazeera.com