Club service director Timo Huttunen says that, in addition to the reported cases, the Finnish Football Federation is aware of two other possible cases of harassment. They are subject to evaluation by the authority.
From the beginning of the week, two cases of harassment were revealed in domestic top football. On Monday evening, FC Inter announced that they had released the head coach Jarkko Wissin of their duties. MTV Sports According to the report, the experienced football coach Wiss had harassed the club’s female employee at the end of the season ceremony. However, Inter did not confirm the information to Urheilu, citing employee privacy.
Club service director of the ball association Timo Huttunen according to the association only heard about the Inter incident on Monday.
– It came at us from behind a tree, Huttunen says.
On Tuesday, the Vaasa Palloseura announced that it had given a written warning to its sports director To Janne Lindberg about sexually tinged messages and comments to the club’s female employees. The incident had already been reported to Pallloliito in June of this year.
Huttunen reminds that in these cases the club is involved, not the union. However, the Balloliitto also hopes that the clubs would contact the association about the cases in question.
– The Swedish Football Association cannot bypass the party involved, in this case the club. They own the situation, so to speak, and make their own decisions.
– Our wish and instruction is that clubs should be proactive in communication matters. In addition to a proper investigation and consultation with the parties involved, it is important to communicate issues both to the membership and to the outside, to the extent that it is possible in each situation, taking into account legislation and privacy, Huttunen continues.
Preventive work with clubs
The case of VPS came to the attention of the Football Association in the summer through the association’s notification channel. The channel has been in use since the beginning of 2022.
The Swedish Football Association made a report on this matter in accordance with the established process.
– The purpose of the process was to ensure that the club has acted appropriately to the end. When nothing new appeared, this was finished in terms of the Pallloiito’s own processing. I can’t judge why they came out now at this point, Huttunen refers to VPS’s exit on Tuesday.
So there were two cases in a short period of time. The football association states that even one such incident is too many.
– I dare to say that we have done a significant amount of work with clubs to ensure that people understand how to act, and what is relevant and what is not. However, I would extend the evaluation of these cases to the whole of sport and society more broadly.
Other cases too
According to Timo Huttunen, the Finnish Football Federation is also aware of two other potential cases of harassment to be investigated. They are currently being evaluated by the authority.
– At this stage, it’s all about suspicion and finding out. Not necessarily even about bringing charges, which is of course a criminal matter. In those matters, we remain in the background. The club will let us know how it goes.
One of the cases is more than a year ago.
The second is related to the case reported in October, where one of the coaches of the football club Oulu Nice Soccer is suspected of inappropriate behavior. The club management has been in contact with the police to investigate the matter and informed the Finnish Football Association about it.
– The second is a suspicion that happened during this year, where the ball is currently in the authority’s hands, Huttunen says.
Palloliitto recommends and also requires clubs to turn to the authorities in such matters. Huttunen states that the proceedings of the cases are very long-lasting from the point of view of the clubs and the parties involved.
However, he is satisfied that, even in more serious cases, the cooperation between the clubs works very openly.
“Not swept under the rug”
In the football association, harassment cases and other forms of inappropriate behavior are tried to be prevented through, among other things, club guidance, training and active communication. According to Huttunen, the measures for a safe operating environment are also in the criteria of the clubs’ quality system.
In addition, the Balloliitto cooperates with Väestöliitto.
If incidents of harassment occur, there are channels where you can safely report them. In addition to the Finnish Football Association’s own notification channel, there are also parties outside the sport through which you can make a notification.
– When such situations arise, you have to deal with them. There cannot be a situation where things are swept under the carpet. Our clubs have been instructed and trained for these matters.