A Czech women's soccer coach, Petr Vlachovsky, has been handed a lifetime ban by UEFA after a court found he secretly recorded players in locker rooms and showers for four years.
A pattern of abuse
The court in the Czech Republic sentenced him to a one‑year suspended prison term and imposed a five‑year domestic coaching prohibition, after he was convicted of filming more than a dozen women.
UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body ruled that Vlachovsky breached its code of conduct on indecent behaviour, prompting the governing body to ask FIFA to extend the sanction internationally and to strip him of his coaching licence in the country.
The 45‑year‑old had spent nearly fifteen years at 1. FC Slovácká, also serving as coach of the Czech Republic's under‑19 women's national team before his arrest in 2023 when the footage surfaced online.
Global players' union FIFPRO hailed the ruling as a decisive step against abuse in football, saying it sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated.