FOOTBALL AUSTRALIA PLEDGED on Wednesday to investigate historic allegations of sexual harassment in the women’s game raised by former members of the national team.

Star striker Lisa De Vanna, who earned 150 caps for Australia before her retirement last month, said she was regularly subject to predatory behaviour early in her career.

Her claims come as allegations of sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour are roiling the top US professional women’s football league, with the US Soccer Federation naming a former federal prosecutor to lead an investigation.

“Have I been sexually harassed? Yes. Have I been bullied? Yes. Ostracised? Yes. Have I seen things that have made me uncomfortable? Yes,” 36-year-old De Vanna told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

“In any sporting organisation and in any environment, grooming, preying and unprofessional behaviour makes me sick.”

De Vanna said incidents included being propositioned in the changing room showers and team-mates pulling her down and “dry humping” her.

She said she was a teenager at the time and did not know how to handle the situation but had broken her silence because “it is still happening across all levels and it’s time to speak up”.

De Vanna’s former manager Rose Garofano said she told the then-governing body Soccer Australia and was assured the issues would be dealt with in-house.

Another ex-player, Rhali Dobson, said she was also harassed as a youngster.

“A lot of it is pushed under the rug. It was a case of grooming when I first came on the scene,” she told the Telegraph.

Football Australia, which took over running the sport in 2005, said it was unaware of the specific allegations raised by De Vanna but would investigate if she and Dobson lodged formal complaints.

“Australian football takes a zero-tolerance approach to any conduct which breaches the standards and values expected of people involved in the game,” it said.

The governing body said it was working with Sport Integrity Australia to set up an independent inquiry looking at the broader issue of historic abuse allegations.

“We have… been engaging with Sport Integrity Australia to develop an additional process for independently investigating allegations of a historical nature as they relate to former players and staff — such as Lisa and Rhali,” it said.

“We will announce the joint initiative with SIA once the details have been finalised.”

Football Australia’s move comes after independent reviews found evidence of toxic culture and abuse in women’s gymnastics and hockey.

Swimming Australia this year set up an independent panel to investigate issues relating to women and girls, while admitting “unacceptable behaviour” dating back decades.

Meanwhile, 24 of Venezuela’s top football players, including Atletico Madrid striker Deyna Castellanos, on Tuesday denounced what they said was sexual abuse by their former coach Kenneth Zseremeta, whom they described as a “monster” in a statement posted on social media.

Kenneth Zseremeta (file pic). SIPA USA / PA Images SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images

“Last year, one of our team-mates confessed to us that she had been sexually abused since the age of 14 by the coach,” said the statement, signed by 24 players and posted on social networks by Castellanos, who was among the top three players in the world in 2017.

They did not identify the victim, who said the abuse had begun in 2014.

“We have decided to break the silence to prevent physical, psychological and sexual abuse and harassment committed by the football coach Kenneth Zseremeta from creating other victims in women’s football and in football,” the statement said.

It said that after the first player’s revelations, “various teammates spoke of experiences of harassment, abnormal questions and invitations, blackmail to remain in the selection, requests for gifts out of context, massages and others.”

The players claimed that some members of the coaching staff had enabled the abuse, and said that “many of us are still suffering from trauma and mental injuries.”

Panamanian-born Zseremeta led several Venezuelan national teams from 2008 to 2017, winning the South American Under-17 title twice and qualifying the age group for the Worlds three times, with two semi-finalist finishes in 2013 and 2016.

He was sacked in 2017 after claiming his players were suffering malnutrition as Venezuela faced a food shortage following an economic and financial crisis.

After leaving Venezuela, he worked in the Dominican Republic and Panama.

The players called on “all relevant people — Fifa, confederations, federations and leagues — not to allow this ‘coach’ to continue his life in women’s football.”

And Stateside, the chief executive of the Washington Spirit stepped down Tuesday, as the fallout from the sexual misconduct and workplace culture scandal roiling the top US professional women’s soccer league continued.

Steve Baldwin, who had been sharply criticized for his handling of allegations against former Spirit coach Richie Burke — who was fired last month — said he was stepping down to “remove distractions” from the team.

“In recent days I have spent a lot of time thinking about the future of the Washington Spirit and the vision I laid out just three years ago,” Baldwin said.

“I have also listened — to team leadership and staff, investors, fans and players — to concerns about the Spirit’s workplace culture and our prior coach’s conduct.

“While there is a range of opinions on how we got here, and how to move forward, everyone — none more so than me — is committed to improving the club’s culture, removing distractions and returning the focus to the players and the pursuit of a championship,” he said.

“With that goal in mind, and at the recent request of our players, I have decided to resign as CEO and managing partner of the Washington Spirit, effective immediately.”

Burke was “terminated for cause” last week after an investigation by the National Women’s Soccer League, following allegations of harassment and a toxic work culture.

He was barred from coaching in the NWSL after a probe found he had harassed and verbally abused players.

The NWSL criticized the Spirit’s handling of the allegations against Burke, saying the team had “failed to act in the best interests of the league.”

Even after Burke had been suspended, Baldwin was accused of presiding over a workplace culture that left women feeling sidelined, described by one former employee as an “old boys club.”

In his statement on Tuesday, Baldwin acknowledged he had “made some mistakes” but insisted he “cared deeply for the players, staff and fan base.”

© – AFP, 2021