Tag: Vera Pauw

Ireland’s Caldwell claims team succeeded ‘in spite of’ ex-coach Pauw

The defender has slammed her former coach, who departed after the World Cup

Ireland defender Diane Caldwell didn’t mince words when describing her former head coach Vera Pauw, saying the team succeeded “in spite of” the Dutchwoman.

Pauw’s four-year tenure as Ireland coach ended last month, after the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed it wouldn’t offer the coach a new contract.

Though Pauw led Ireland to its first-ever women’s World Cup, Caldwell still took a dim view of her team’s former coach at a press conference on Tuesday.

“From my position, as a pretty experienced player, I don’t think it was up to the standard expected at international level,” Caldwell said.

“I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach.”

Caldwell, 35, made one appearance at the 2023 World Cup, which ended in the group stage following defeats to Australia and Canada and a draw with Nigeria.

The defender hinted that Ireland could have gone farther at the World Cup were its preparation better, putting the blame squarely at the feet of Pauw.

“I think there were many areas that could have been better,” Caldwell said.

“After the European campaign [in 2021], myself and Katie [McCabe] also reflected with Ruud Dokter [then the FAI’s high performance director] about certain aspects that needed to be improved and changed, but ultimately that fell on deaf ears and she got a contract extension.

“Our preparation for games could have been better – physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, changes, systems of play.

“What was happening under Vera? I think a group of players that were destined for success came together at the right time.”

Pauw has been previously hit with allegations of body shaming and excessive control, which were made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation. As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash for one season in 2018, has vehemently denied the allegations against her, saying earlier this year: “These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false. There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

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Vera Pauw out as Ireland women’s head coach

The 60-year-old is a controversial figure following allegations of body shaming and excessive control

Vera Pauw will not be offered a new contract as Ireland women’s national team head coach, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has confirmed.

Pauw’s current deal will expire on Thursday and following a lengthy meeting on Tuesday, the FAI confirmed that the Dutchwomen’s four-year spell in charge will end.

“On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future,” said Jonathan Hill, the FAI chief executive in a statement.

“In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 where our women’s team made history and inspired a nation,” he added.

“The future is bright for women and girls’ football and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women’s team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team, and more broadly the development of women and girls’ football in this country.”

Pauw led Ireland to the women’s World Cup for the first time ever this summer, with the team exiting in the group stage following defeats to Australia and Canada and a draw with Nigeria.

The 60-year-old has become a controversial figure in the coaching world after allegations of body shaming and excessive control were made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation.

As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash for one season in 2018, has vehemently denied the allegations against her, saying earlier this year: “These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false. There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

Ahead of the World Cup, Ireland captain Katie McCabe called the allegations “a real negative distraction” after a media session in which Pauw stated “there is a person that is targeted to destroy my career.”

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Vera Pauw slams NWSL report: ‘Absolutely ridiculous and false’

The Ireland coach strongly refuted allegations of body shaming from her stint with the Houston Dash

Republic of Ireland head coach Vera Pauw has said the allegations made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation are “absolutely ridiculous and false.”

The report said that Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash in 2018, “shamed players for their weight and attempted to exert excessive control over their eating habits.”

As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw has now returned to the U.S. for the first time since the report, leading Ireland into two friendlies against the USWNT as the country continues preparations for its first women’s World Cup.

The Dutchwoman faced the media on Friday and strongly refuted the accusations in the report.

“These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false,” Pauw said. “There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

“I think the only thing I can do is say the truth. There’s no reason for having any doubt in the way I am dealing with teams,” she added. “In that report, there’s things said like body shaming, which is absolutely false. If there’s one thing that I don’t do, it is body shaming. There is no scale in my dressing room, there’s no fat percentages taken.”

Pauw took particular umbrage at being included in the report alongside coaches like Paul Riley, Christy Holly and Rory Dames, who have been accused of serious sexual misconduct.

“Not only me, but other women were put into this report alongside rapists,” she said. “Can you imagine? With my background. Do you know my background?

“I have been raped. I have been sexually assaulted. I have perceived power abuse, intimidation, isolation, everything, the worst thing that a woman can get in an organization. I am absolutely aware of the power that I have as a coach.”

Pauw added that she felt her inclusion in the report showed a double standard.

“If I would have been a man, who would even care about something like that?” Pauw said. “People would say, ‘It it is your task to prepare the players to be the best on the pitch. It’s your task as a coach to educate yourself, to study and bring over your knowledge to your players.’”

Several male coaches were accused of various forms of weight shaming in the joint report, with former OL Reign head coach Farid Benstiti also receiving a conditional ban from the league for weight shaming.

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