Vera Pauw, the manager of the Republic of Ireland women’s team, has been accused of “weight shaming” by former players of the US club she led in 2018, but Pauw has denied making any comments about the appearance of players or their weight. hold during Houston Dash.
The allegations were detailed in a joint report published by the NWSL, the top US women’s league, and the NWSL Players’ Association, following their years of joint investigation into widespread reports of abuse by several other coaches in the NWSL.
It summarized that Pauw “shamed players for their weight and tried to exert excessive control over their eating habits”, adding: “Players credibly reported that Pauw criticized players for their appearance – saying, for example, that some players ‘ too big” while praising other players for losing weight, with no apparent correlation to performance or health.
“Players reported that Pauw’s comments touched on a teammate who was struggling with an eating disorder.”
Pauw was interviewed as part of the investigation, although she declined to cooperate, according to the report. However, it adds that she has provided a “written denial of what she suspected were the allegations against her, including a statement that she never made any comments about a player’s appearance or tracked players’ weight.”
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said on Thursday that Pauw continues to enjoy their support, adding in a statement: “The FA is aware of a joint NWSL/NWSLPA report referring to Vera Pauw.
“Neither the FAI nor Vera had seen this report prior to its publication and we note that Vera has already expressed her views to the authors of the report. The FAI continues to support Vera and her team as they prepare for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.”
A social media statement from Houston Dash saw them “apologizing to players, current and former, who were victims of misconduct by head coach Vera Pauw in 2018,” as well as apologies for what the report called “emotional misconduct,” reportedly performed by James Clarkson, who was their head coach until being suspended indefinitely in April.
The club also confirmed on Wednesday that they would not renew England coach Clarkson’s contract, which was due to expire at the end of 2022. 20 years, described the claims against him as “baseless”.