A 42-year-old coach of a women’s soccer team in the lower categories of Pauldarrak (Barakaldo) has been denounced by four minors between 14 and 16 years old for an alleged crime against sexual freedom. The Ertzaintza has opened investigation proceedings against the technician. The first complaint was filed on Sunday, after the minors and their families met with the club’s protection officer; The other three were incorporated into the main complaint after the families gave statements to the Ertzaintza. The four minors gave statements this Friday in the Barakaldo guard court, where the club’s protection officer, two more witnesses, and the denounced coach, who was cited as being investigated, were also heard. Provisional release has been agreed without any precautionary measure, reports Mikel Ormazabal. The case will now be transferred to a criminal court yet to be assigned.
Pauldarrak has a men’s and women’s section, the latter has 10 teams, one of them coached by the accused who has been at the club for 15 years. The entity’s protection delegate, Iñaki Alonso, learned of the events on Thursday of last week, according to what he told this newspaper. “Two adult players from another team asked me for a meeting, they had heard some comments and wanted to let me know. On Thursday they came accompanied by the four affected minors. They told me the situations they had suffered and how they had experienced them. The families were still not aware of the facts and I suggested that they tell them.” The next day, Alonso met with the coach, told him what was happening and asked him if he had any allegations to make. “He told me no, that he had not done anything. Given the seriousness of the problem, I explained to him that he had the obligation, as a protection delegate, to request a preventive suspension from the club.
One of the minors is 14 years old, two are 15 and the fourth is 16. In three of the cases, alleged sexual and inappropriate comments were reported in the ear, as well as alleged questions of sexual content. In the fourth case it is alleged exhibitionism. “None of the events took place in the club, they occurred on a train, on the bus, in a buffet after a game and in a bar where, supposedly, the accused hung out with the minors after training,” Alonso clarifies. . The recent events would have taken place since last Christmas until a few weeks ago. Alonso assures that, at the moment, he is not aware of any more victims, but he does not rule out that there may be more in the coming weeks. “In addition to meeting with the other families of the players coached by the accused to inform them of the allegations, I also met with the players of all the women’s teams, I explained to those who had direct contact with the coach in the past that if They wanted to comment on a situation they experienced, they could do so with complete confidence. In public first and in private later they assured me that nothing had happened to them, that does not prevent something from arising in the future.” Club sources, for their part, have assured this newspaper that the situation they are experiencing is painful. “But what we have to do and are doing is to make ourselves available to the victims, the families and the investigation.”
The Barakaldo City Council has expressed, through a statement, its “strongest condemnation” of the reported sexual abuse and has announced that “it will study, if necessary, appearing as a private prosecutor in the case.” The club, Alonso pointed out when leaving the court, is available to the families of the minors, who “are fine, although in an environment that is not pleasant to be in, so it is about making them feel accompanied.” and safe.”
The figure of the protection delegate has been mandatory since 2021 by the LOPIVI (organic law for comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence) for all clubs, federations and entities that work with minors. The delegate is the reference person in case of abuse, the person who creates a space of trust to talk about the concerns that minors have. It is the person who, in the event of abuses that involve criminal offenses, has the obligation to report the facts to the corresponding authorities (social services, State security forces and bodies, prosecutor’s office). Despite the legal obligation, the majority of clubs and sports entities do not have it implemented in their organizational chart. Due to lack of resources, but also for not assessing the magnitude of the problem; If it does exist, it is usual that it does not have adequate training. Someone is chosen for complying with the law and that’s it. This is how Eukene Arana, a specialist in prevention and protection of violence against children, explained it in a conference on protection at the CSD (Higher Sports Council): “Why do the physical, technical and tactical skills of the coaches improve and not the specific training for those who work with minors? “There are no training spaces.” The investigation that EL PAÍS has undertaken into abuses in Spanish sports has counted 1,132 victims and 206 cases, soccer has the highest number (87).
If you know of any case of abuse in Spanish sport that has not seen the light, you can write to: [email protected]
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