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Paris (AFP)
From the United States to Australia, via Venezuela, a wind of revolt has been shaking women’s football for several days: players are speaking out to denounce harassment and sexual assault.
After the United States last week, Venezuela on Tuesday, it is the turn of the Australian Federation to pledge Wednesday to investigate allegations of sexual harassment made by former members of the national team.
“Was I sexually harassed? Yes. Was I bullied? Yes. Ostracized? Yes. Did I see things that made me uncomfortable? Yes,” told the Sydney Daily Telegraph Australia’s star striker Lisa de Vanna, selected 150 times before retiring last month.
The 36-year-old said she suffered inappropriate proposals in the showers of the locker room, even sexual assault from her teammates. She said she was a teenager at the time and didn’t know how to handle the situation, but broke her silence because “it is still happening on all levels and it is time to speak”.
Another former player, Rhali Dobson, said she was also harassed in her youth. “Many of these problems are passed over in silence,” she said, referring for her part to having been subjected to psychological manipulation for sexual purposes.
“Australian football takes a zero tolerance approach to any conduct that violates the standards and values expected of those involved in the game,” Football Australia responded, adding that it worked with Sport Integrity Australia. to set up an independent investigation into the broader issue of abuse in sport, as similar cases rock other disciplines such as gymnastics and swimming.
– “Monster” –
In the United States, allegations of sexual assault have shaken since last week the North American Women’s Football League (NWSL), whose commissioner ended up resigning.
After coach Paul Riley, fired by the North Carolina Courage following accusations of sexual abuse by players at his former club, the Portland Thorns, a second coach, Richard Burke, was sacked by the Washington Spirit , after an investigation by NWSL into allegations of verbal and moral harassment.
The president of the Washington Spirit, Steve Baldwin, strongly criticized for the management of the scandal, resigned Tuesday.
All matches scheduled for last weekend in the United States have been suspended. And the International Football Federation (Fifa) announced on Friday that it was also opening an investigation.
In Venezuela, Denya Castellanos, the striker of Atlético Madrid, who was among the three best players in the world in 2017, posted on social networks a text signed by 24 players, in which they reveal that “one of ( their) teammates (…) confessed to having been sexually abused since the age of 14 by the coach “, facts dating back to 2014.
“We have decided to break the silence to prevent situations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse and harassment committed by football coach Kenneth Zseremetra from causing further victims,” the text added.
Zseremeta led several Venezuelan national teams from 2008 to 2017, winning the South American Under-17 title twice and qualifying that age category three times for the Worlds with two semi-finalist places in 2013 and 2016.
© 2021 AFP
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