UEFA banned him from football for life » The coach who secretly filmed his players in the dressing room and in the showers, maximum punishment
Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 15:47 / Updated on Wednesday, 20 May 2026 15:47
UEFA has banned Czech coach Petr Vlachovsky (42) for life from any football-related activity after the huge scandal in which he was convicted of secretly filming his players in dressing rooms and showers.
The 42-year-old technician was found guilty of secretly filming 14 female footballers over four years at FC Slovacko.
UEFA verdict: Petr Vlachovsky banned for life
After its own investigation, UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee concluded that Vlachovsky had breached the regulations on indecent behaviour, offensive conduct and bringing the image of football into disrepute.
The European forum officially announced the lifetime ban from all football activity, the request to FIFA to extend the sanction worldwide and the request to the Czech Federation to withdraw the coaching license.
This result sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behavior has no place in football and that protecting the welfare of players must remain a priority at all levels.
– was the message sent by UEFA, according to The Guardian
How the footage was discovered
Vlachovsky, who coached women's and junior teams at Slovacko for nearly 15 years, was arrested in September 2023 after the clandestine footage surfaced online.
According to information published by the players' union Fifpro, the coach used a camera hidden in a backpack to film the athletes in the locker room. The youngest victim was only 17 years old.
The investigation also discovered that the former coach also possessed material with sexual abuse of minors.
In May 2025, the court in the Czech Republic sentenced him to a one-year suspended prison sentence and a five-year ban from coaching domestically. The punishment was considered too lenient by many players and organizations in women's football, which later led to UEFA's intervention.
The victims spoke about the trauma they suffered
According to the previously mentioned source, several of the victims spoke publicly in the Czech media about the trauma caused by this case.
The soccer players declared that:
Some of them said they could no longer sleep peacefully after discovering the images.
FIFPRO: “A necessary message for football”
FIFPRO welcomed UEFA's decision and said that the sanction is an important signal for the whole sport.
“This result sends a strong and necessary message: abusive and inappropriate behavior has no place in football and protecting players must remain a priority at all levels“, the organization said.
Petr Vlachovsky had also trained the Czech U19 women's national team and was named the best coach in Czech women's football.
