A group of 24 Venezuelan soccer players denounced this Tuesday the former national selector Kenneth Zseremeta of having sexually abused one of them, in addition to having subjected them to physical and psychological harassment .
“We, the players of the Venezuelan national team from different processes, have decided to break the silence to prevent situations of abuse and physical harassment , psychological and sexual caused by the soccer coach Kenneth Zseremeta take more victims in women’s soccer and in the world “, reads a statement released by the player Deyna Castellanos.
In the same, they affirm that “ from the year 2013 until the year 2013 numerous incidents arose around the figure of coach Zseremeta, the most common as abuse physical and psychological during training. ”
“Many of us continue with traumas and mental injuries that accompany us in our day to day,” they assure.
In the text, they also explain that, in 2020, one of them “ confessed that she had been sexually abused since 14 years by the coach “, an abuse that” lasted until he was fired “, in 2017.
“This has been news that, for all of us, has been very difficult to assimilate, to the degree that many of us feel guilty for having been so close to all this and not having realized something so serious and punishable “, they explain.
In this regard, they assure that the confession did not surprise them” because that was the time atmosphere that the coach cultivated every day “.
” We have looked for different solutions to be able to make a legal claim, but for different reasons, we were has made it very difficult. For that reason, we have decided to omit the name of our colleague to respect her privacy, and above all, the legal framework of this complaint ”, they add.
Likewise, They add that, “as a result of this confession”, several players “have expressed experiences of harassment, both by phone and questions and undue invitations, bribes to stay within the team, gifts out of context, massages and different situations that were definitely not normal. ”
The 24 emphasized that, “although it sounds crazy”, for them it was “normal” for their coach “ to give his opinion, comment and ask us about our sexuality and intimacy, even though they are minors. ”
SITUATIONS SUPPORTED BY THE TECHNICAL STAFF
“ Many of these situations were supported by some members of the coaching staff. Today we understand that these actions were intended to manipulate us and make us feel guilty. Female players from the LGBTI community were constantly questioned about their sexual orientation and harassment towards heterosexual female players was constant ”, they underline.
The players of the Venezuelan soccer team denounce coach Kenneth Zseremeta of physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
“for us it was normal for our coach to give his opinion, comment and ask us about our sexuality and intimacy”. Girls of 14 years https : //t.co/SAyApgVOWW– Sikiuk Méndez 💜 🌈 (@sikiukeli) October 5, 2021
Also “ there were threats and manipulations to tell the parents of the players about their sexual orientation if they did not have discipline or performed as they should.”
“The sexual innuendos were everyday issues, as were the comments towards the physical attractiveness of many of our players “, they add.
The footballers also denounce that the situation was not experienced by them alone, but that “ at the executive and coaching staff level there were also these situations ” in which the technician manipulated them to think even that all those who were around him “were bad people and that only he was the one who sought” his good.
“It was constant conflict because of his lack of professionalism and mythomania. Unfortunately, the results generated by our talent kept it in a good position. We never felt we had the tools to speak and be respected because the influence and power of this person in our lives was authoritarian “, they conclude.
The document was signed, in addition to Castellanos, by Lourdes Moreno , Gabriela García, María Gabriela García, Hilary Vergara, Sandra Luzardo, Michelle Romero, Fatima Lobo, Franyely Rodríguez Nikol González, Camila Pescatore and Daniuksa Rodríguez.
The list It is completed by Yuliana Caile, Alexandra Canaguacan, Génesis Flores, Alexa Castro, Yohanli Mujica, Bárbara Serrano, Tahicelis Marcano, Heliamar Alvarado, Yailyn Medina, Nathalie Pasquel, Icéis Briceño and Dayana Rodríguez.
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