Austrian football shaken after hidden cameras found in Altach women’s team’s changing room
A man accused of having placed secret cameras in Altach’s changing room is appearing in court next week
A man who has been accused of having videos from secret cameras in the changing room and showers of the Altach women’s team is appearing in court next week in a case that has shaken football in Austria.
About 30 women have been identified on the recordings, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Feldkirch, and some are considering a civil lawsuit against the accused. The team play in the top division in Austria.
One player, speaking anonymously to the Vorarlberger Nachrichten reporter Markus Krautberger in November, said the players had found out about the alleged crimes via the media and then been called into a meeting. “We were completely shocked,” she said. “The rug was pulled from under our feet.”
She described how the players have been trying to process what has happened but said: “One thing is for sure: this will take a long time … There are better and worse days. But my thoughts are of course often on this case. And when that happens you think about how disgusting and grim it is what has been going on here.”
Krautberger has been leading the coverage of the scandal at Altach but says it has not always been easy. “Several players came to me wanting to tell their stories because they did not want it to be played down,” he says. “It is important to highlight what has happened. After we published the first article with one of the players it has become more difficult to get answers from the club.”
The fallout has been big, with the minister of sport, Michaela Schmidt, calling the alleged crimes “disgusting”. She said: “If female athletes are not even safe in their own dressing rooms because of an official then they have nowhere to stand on. I am hoping for a full investigation by the authorities and a complete overhaul by the club.”
The man has been charged with misuse of recording devices (section 120 of the Austrian criminal code) and handling of image-based sexual abuse material (section 207a). It is unclear whether he viewed, possessed or produced the material. According to local media, the material was discovered after German and Swiss authorities investigated possible child pornography offences.
The club said in a statement: “After external information was leaked to the media, the players were invited to a personal information evening at short notice. Support was immediately provided in cooperation with professional victim support organisations. It was particularly important to us to offer both neutral external experts and internal contact persons – both male and female – so that every player would have the opportunity to talk in a supportive environment.
“SCR Altach will continue to do everything possible to support the affected players and to keep them transparent about relevant developments.”
Schmidt said her department had sent Altach a long list of questions, which, according to the club, they answered before Christmas. Manuel Willam, an assistant to the board at Altach, said the club are conducting an internal process to develop additional protective and preventive measures and are working with the Austrian FA and the Austrian Sports Federation on increased security measures in sport, which will be presented in March.
Claudia Koller, managing director of 100% Sport, which looks after safe sport initiatives in Austria and co-manages the Vera confidential support centre, says the case demonstrates the difficulty with prevention strategies. “A safeguarding policy must be communicated and be completely transparent,” she told Der Standard. “Its purpose is to protect someone in an emergency or to direct them to relevant resources – and if this isn’t clearly visible, it’s useless.
She added: “A criminal record check won’t solve everything, but it sends a signal that attention is being paid. However, this only applies if someone has already been convicted of a crime.”
Schmidt, meanwhile, has made it clear the Altach Causa, as it is known in Austria, is hugely important and that the country must learn from it. She said: “Everyone in sport deserves to be protected from boundary violations, abuse of power or sexual harassment. It is clear that we need significantly more prevention than we have now. Something so horrible must never happen again. It is the lowest of the low and that is why I will fight together with Austrian sports clubs”
Let’s hope it is a wake-up call for Austria – and beyond.
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