Fifa has confirmed a global extension of the ban on a former match official and employee of Austrian club SCR Altach, who was convicted earlier this year of secretly filming and photographing members of the club's women's team.
The case first came to light after a court in Feldkirch, Austria, found the man guilty in February of covertly recording players—including minors—in the changing room, gym and shower areas of Altach's women's team facilities. The offences reportedly took place over a seven-year period, between 2018 and 2025.
The Feldkirch court handed down a seven-month suspended prison sentence and a €1,200 fine, and ordered the man to pay each of his victims €625 in compensation. The relatively lenient punishment sparked significant backlash, both from former Altach players and across the wider Austrian football community, with many arguing the penalty did not reflect the severity of the violation.
In response to the public outcry, the Austrian players' union (VdF) and global players' union Fifpro submitted a formal request to Fifa, urging the governing body to extend the ban beyond Austria's borders. On 4 August, Fifa's disciplinary committee agreed, converting what had been a domestic prohibition into a worldwide ban on all football-related activities. National federations are limited to enforcing such bans only within their own countries, making Fifa's intervention crucial to preventing the man from resuming any football involvement abroad.
Because the man did not request a formal statement of reasons within the required deadline, Fifa's decision is now considered final and legally binding.
Christos Papadimitriou, the VdF's women's football coordinator, welcomed the ruling as a message to the wider football community. "Anyone who secretly films players in the locker room crosses a clear line," he said. "The fact that the ban now applies worldwide sends an important signal: those who seriously violate players' rights cannot escape the consequences by moving abroad."
The case has drawn renewed attention to similar incidents elsewhere in European football. In the Czech Republic, the players' union CAFH has demanded a lifetime ban from all football activities for Petr Vlachovsky, the former coach of FC Slovacko. Vlachovsky was convicted in May 2025 of comparable offences, including secretly filming players, and was also found in possession of child sexual abuse material. Despite the seriousness of the charges, he received only a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban from Czech authorities.
Fifpro has signalled its intent to pursue a broader response in that case as well. In March, the union stated that because the Czech criminal proceedings and the Czech Football Association's administrative process operate separately and can proceed in parallel, it was pressing the federation to impose a lifetime ban on Vlachovsky and, more broadly, on all individuals convicted of sexual offences within football. The union added that it was examining possible legal avenues to secure a global ban on behalf of affected players.
The developments in both Austria and the Czech Republic highlight growing pressure from players' unions on football's governing bodies to adopt tougher, more consistent measures against individuals convicted of privacy violations and abuse within the sport, regardless of the leniency shown by domestic courts.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.