Sexual abuse in the sports club?

Police are investigating former football coach of TSV Neuried

Created: 01/17/2022, 7:30 p.m

By: Michael Grözinger

A former football coach at TSV Neuried is suspected of having sexually abused young people.

© Michael Schönwalder

A former football coach at TSV Neuried is suspected of having sexually abused young people for years.

The police speak of around 20 victims.

Neuried – A bad suspicion casts its shadow on amateur football in Würmtal – specifically on youth football in Neuried: According to information from Munich-based Merkur Würmtal, a former football coach at TSV Neuried is accused of having sexually abused young players for years.

Sexual abuse at TSV Neuried?

Club is keeping a low profile

A police spokesman explains when asked by Merkur: "Since December 2021, following a corresponding report from a sports club in the greater Munich area, investigations into suspected sexual abuse of those under protection have been conducted." The suspected trainer did not want to comment on the allegations at the request of the Munich Merkur .

The police and the public prosecutor's office do not say whether the club that filed a complaint is TSV Neuried or another club for which the coach worked after his engagement in Würmtal.

TSV is also keeping a low profile.

"This is an ongoing process, I cannot and must not say anything about it," explains Volker Levering, one of the three club chairmen.

Police suspect: "Sexual acts on a total of around 20 young people"

One thing is certain: at the time the report was filed, the suspect was no longer working at the Würmtal Club.

According to the police, the cases that are being investigated extend over a longer period of time since 2016 – and thus mostly over the years in which the trainer worked in Neuried.

Specifically, he is suspected of having "repeatedly performed sexual acts on a total of around 20 young people," said the police spokesman.

However, he did not want to comment in more detail.

"The investigation is currently not yet complete." Apparently, the police are not assuming accomplices, at least there are currently no other suspects.

Only the football coach is being investigated.

TSV Neuried: Prevention of sexual violence is a top priority

The fact that the case of abuse should have occurred at TSV Neuried of all places initially sounds like terrible irony.

For a long time, the club has been increasingly involved in the prevention of sexual violence in the club and around ten years ago it was the first sports club in the Würmtal valley to make it compulsory for coaches to present the extended certificate of good conduct.

The TSV has installed its own confidants on the subject of sexual violence, and it presents a “protection and emergency concept” in detail on its website.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this commitment that the allegations came to light.