Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw has claimed that the historic weight shaming allegations made against her are 'false'.
The 59-year-old was named in the report of the NWSL and NWSLPA's joint investigation into allegations of abuse and misconduct in the NWSL on Wednesday.
The report alleges that Pauw 'shamed players for their weight and attempted to exert excessive control over their eating habits' during her time in charge of Houston Dash between September 2017 and September 2018. Players reported that the former Netherlands defender's comments affected a teammate struggling with an eating disorder.
"I want to refute every allegation made against me from my time at Houston Dash," a statement released by Pauw read.
"Player welfare has always been of the utmost importance to me throughout my career. Nutrition is a hugely important aspect of professional football and my advice to players has always been to look after their nutritional needs and their health - and to always seek the advice of medical experts.
"To suggest I would body shame any human being, footballer or not, is an insult to my personal values and to my behaviour as coach and I cannot allow this claim to go unchallenged."
Pauw has been in charge of the Republic of Ireland since 2019, and guided the team to qualification for their first ever Women's World Cup earlier this year. The FAI released a statement on Thursday pledging their support for their manager following the allegations.
"I would like to...
KUANTAN: An elephant handler has expressed disappointment over claims that three Malaysian elephants sent to a Japanese zoo are suffering in their new environment. Mahout Suhaimi Ibrahim, who spen...