7 months suspended prison sentence, a fine of 1,200 euros and a compensation of 625 euros for each victim – this is the punishment received by the referee who secretly filmed the footballers in the dressing room.
The “whistleblower”, who was also an official of the Austrian women’s club SCR Altach, was found guilty of secretly filming and photographing the players undressed in the dressing room. But the sentence is too mild in the opinion of his victims, who were outraged by the judges’ decision.
About 30 female players have been identified in recordings and photographs. One of them was cited in court: “We are young women, some of us still children. What happened pulled the rug from under our feet. For years we were told the locker room was our home, but then this home was destroyed by someone we considered family.” The official admitted his guilt, but his lawyer’s claim that the photos and videos were not passed on to other people persuaded the judges at the regional court in Feldkirch, Austria, to give him a lenient sentence.
The official admitted his guilt
At the end of the trial, the man addressed the victims in the courtroom and said: “I agree with the statements made by my lawyer, but I would still like to express my sympathy to all those affected and apologize for my actions.”
“It leaves me speechless. He was not only a top referee in Austria, but also a team official. There he filmed players, including some who were minors. Now I wonder if this is an appropriate punishment. I also wonder if such a punishment has a deterrent effect on others. We felt safe in the locker room, and this violated our privacy so badly that some of us don’t even feel safe anymore now, in the public showers”, she was outraged Eleni Rittmann, former Altach player.
