Eleven football players report more than a hundred cases of intimate touching by a German player consultant
Research by CORRECTIV shows: The often underage young footballers, some of whom now play professional football, are said to have been treated naked in the counsellor's offices under the pretext of sports medicine treatment.
Research by CORRECTIV, a non-profit media house, reveals how the player consultant N. is alleged to have touched underage footballers in their private parts in more than a hundred cases. For more than a decade, he is said to have treated the young footballers entrusted to him naked under the pretence of sports medicine treatment. At the same time, the counsellor publicly campaigned for better child protection.
Over the past year and a half, CORRECTIV has spoken to eleven footballers, including Bundesliga players. Four of them signed affidavits for their statements.
They were all coached by N. and independently describe their experiences from 2010 to 2023, which were similar: In each case, only the player and N. were present during investigations by the counsellor. Several players described how the counsellor had asked them to take off their pants. They then had to do exercises naked and were touched by the counsellor, including in their private parts.
A player, at that time 16-year-old, remembers: N. regularly did exercises with him and touched him in various places on his body. ‘I can still remember exactly how he touched me on my pubic bone or inside my groin and pressed into it,’ says the player, who played for a youth team at SpVgg Unterhaching, a professional football club, at the time. Before a treatment, the player counsellor asked ‘May I?’. When the player responded ‘yes’, N. put his testicles to one side and pressed them between his thigh and abdomen.
The player counsellor himself rejects the accusations. ‘I don’t treat anyone in sports medicine, I’m not a doctor,’ he said in a telephone conversation with CORRECTIV. In a written statement, the consultant distanced himself from the accusation that there had been ‘targeted touching in the intimate area’ and reported ‘offers’, including as a first point of contact for medical questions or static checks. He finds it deeply offensive and hurtful ‘that this procedure is now to be given a sexual connotation.’
Legal expert: ‘the actions could be relevant under the aspects of sexual coercion, sexual harassment, assault or coercion’
CORRECTIV commissioned Christina Clemm, a legal expert for sexualised violence, to assess the investigation results. ‘According to the reports, it seems obvious that the special relationship of dependency that existed between players and counsellors was exploited here,’ says Clemm. Under criminal law, the actions could be relevant under the aspects of ‘sexual coercion, sexual harassment, assault or coercion’ if the descriptions are true.
The numerous players that N. coached included at least 40 players from the third division club SpVgg Unterhaching. A press officer for the club stated that players had irregularly discussed ‘examinations by N.’. ‘However, only adult players talked about this; the fact that underage players were examined naked was not an issue,’ says the spokesperson.
Today, N. works in an influential position at a player consultancy agency, where he is particularly responsible for the youth sector and medical contacts. The agency commented on the allegations. ‘After our checks over the last few days, we have found no evidence to support your allegations,’ wrote a managing director of the agency.
However, the player consultant was released from his duties on the evening of the publication. The agency also announced possible legal action against him.
You can find the entire investigation here (German only).