Women’s football coach Vlachovsky banned for life
European football’s governing body says it has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s football coach who secretly filmed his players.
Petr Vlachovsky, former coach at 1. FC Slovacko, was convicted last year in the Czech Republic of filming more than a dozen women over a four-year period. He received a one-year suspended prison sentence and a five-year ban from coaching in the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following an investigation into allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the above mentioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
Leading players’ union Fifpro reported that players of 1. FC Slovacko only learned they had been secretly filmed after the arrest.
Fifpro – the global representative organisation for professional footballers – said the players were filmed on Vlachovsky’s camera hidden in a backpack, and the youngest was aged 17.
Throughout this process, the club has regarded itself as an injured party and has treated the matter with the utmost seriousness, sensitivity and respect for those affected.”
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world football governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the wellbeing of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
