• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Republic Of Ireland Boss Vera Pauw Says She Was Raped By A 'Prominent Official' When She Was A Young Player

Home> Football

Updated 12:41 2 Jul 2022 GMT+1Published 12:36 2 Jul 2022 GMT+1

Republic Of Ireland Boss Vera Pauw Says She Was Raped By A 'Prominent Official' When She Was A Young Player

Pauw says she was raped by a Dutch football official and sexually assaulted by two other men.

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan

Republic of Ireland head coach Vera Pauw says she was raped by a "prominent football official" in the Netherlands during her playing career.

Former Netherlands international Pauw, who was appointed head coach of Ireland's women's team in 2019, said in a statement on social media that she was raped by the official when she was a young player.

Pauw also claimed she was sexually assaulted by two other men employed in Dutch football later on in her career.

Pauw has been in charge of the Irish women's team since 2019 (Image: Alamy)
Pauw has been in charge of the Irish women's team since 2019 (Image: Alamy)

Advert

Pauw, who has also previously managed Scotland, the Netherlands, Russia and South Africa, accused the Dutch football association (KNVB) of failing to open a full investigation after she reported her claims.

The 59-year-old, who made 89 appearances as a player for the Netherlands, wrote on Twitter: "For these past 35 years I have kept the abuse private. I have allowed the memory of it to control my life, to fill me with daily pain and anguish, to dominate my inner feelings.

"To many I'm seen as a brash and loud football coach and manager, a tough woman who has risen to the top in a man's world. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"For the past number of years I have tried to have my case heard in a fair and just manner by the football authorities in the Netherlands but to no avail.

"Some people would rather keep my rape and sexual assaults quiet than offer me the support I need by opening this story to the world. I can no longer share the silence."

Advert

Pauw says she filed five reports to the Dutch FA without receiving a satisfactory response and has now reported her claims to the Dutch police.

"Trust me, my story is very real and very true," she added.

"I know going public is going to throw the spotlight on my life in a manner I have never experienced before, but I also hope other young footballers and coaches who were exposed to anything like the rape and abuse I suffered will now feel brave enough to come forward and share their stories."

The KNVB said it had been "shocked" by Pauw's revelations and admitted it had "not been sufficiently alert to Vera's first signals in 2011 about sexually transgressive behaviour".

Advert

"As a result, we have jointly decided to have research done. Vera wanted this to be carried out by Verinorm, an independent research agency that specialises in social safety," the KNVB said in a statement, as reported by The Guardian.

"This independent investigation shows that the KNVB should have handled a number of things differently.

"In the past, Vera has unfortunately been confronted with a number of [estimation] errors and harmful comments from [former] KNVB employees. With the investigation, Verinorm also found that there was no plan or policy of the KNVB behind this."

Advert

The statement added: "We want to discuss the recommendations from the report internally and with Vera as soon as possible but with the utmost care so that we can set out actions. Also with a view to recovery mediation."

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has said it has given Pauw its "full support" as she "makes very brave revelations about her past".

"Vera has engaged on this matter with the association's senior leaders for some time now and the FAI has offered her all the backing she may need on a personal and professional level," read an FAI statement.

"The FAI is absolutely aware of the impact these revelations will have on Vera's wellbeing and have assured her of the ongoing full support of the FAI board and all her colleagues at the association."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Football

Rory O'Callaghan
Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

X

@rory_ocallaghan

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 9 hours ago

    Man Utd 'decide' new striker target after accepting defeat in Viktor Gyokeres transfer saga

    Manchester United have another striker on their radar after losing out on Viktor Gyokeres.

    Football
  • 10 hours ago

    Marcus Rashford has made his feelings clear on Harry Kane amid Bayern Munich links to Man Utd outcast

    Marcus Rashford would relish the opportunity to play with Harry Kane judging by his comments about the Bayern Munich star.

    Football
  • 11 hours ago

    Scott McTominay's next Napoli team-mate has already walked out on club

    The player claimed that his former manager called him a 'troublemaker'.

    Football
  • 11 hours ago

    Women's Euros star receives ban for first group match after incident that happened 355 days ago

    A player will have to wait for her first appearance at this year's Women's European Championships following a 2024 incident.

    Football