Former head coach of the Kuopio Palloseura women’s representative team Pauliina Miettinen criticized the club’s management in his Facebook update. KuPS won the Finnish championship and the Finnish cup under Miettinen’s leadership last season.
In an interview with at the beginning of October, Miettinen said that he will give up his coaching duties for next season.
Now he blames the club’s interim CEO in the summer Vesa Kauppilaa nepotism, i.e. favoring a relative.
A shopkeeper’s daughter Anni-Maija Kauppila plays in the KuPS representative team.
Kauppila, who has worked in women’s football in Kuopio for a long time, started in June as the chairman of the board of KuPS Oy. He also started as interim CEO in Augustwhen Jarmo Heiskanen quit in the mission.
Heiskanen had hired Miettinen as the new head coach of KuPS in May after Ollipekka Ojala went on sick leave.
Qualifying from the Champions League spoke volumes
In his Facebook update, Miettinen also accused Kauppila of interfering with the team’s tactics and other game-related matters.
Kauppila tells Urheilu that he has taken a stand on the team’s game-related matters very little. Kauppila only tells about one case.
It was the final game of the Champions League qualifying tournament against Serbian ZFK Spartak Subotica at the beginning of September. With a win, KuPS would have reached the second qualifying round.
According to Kauppila, he took a stand before the game because the financial stake in the game was so big.
– I noticed that “Pade” was going to play the defensive line in a way that didn’t work at all in the spring against the same type of high-pressing team. Pade replied that they practiced the day before, and it works, says Kauppila.
– After the game I commented that it didn’t work. Of course, I talked with other coaches as well. They agreed. Nothing more than that.
According to Miettinen, he had discussions with Kauppila about game-related matters after every match. Miettinen listed several examples of discussions to . According to Miettinen, Kauppila asked after the games why certain players were not replaced on the field and why certain players were not taken off the field.
– There was a phone call after every game, no matter how the game went. I’m not saying it was all negative. We also received encouragement from Vesa. However, I have never been in a team before where the boss calls after the game and maybe questions something, says Miettinen.
According to Miettinen, Kauppila had also asked during the season if he had something against Kauppila’s daughter. According to the head coach, Kauppila had also suggested that some players leaving KuPS should not be put on the field in the last match of the season.
– I am not against anyone. I was brought to Kuopio for the purpose of winning the double championship and advancing to the Champions League. That has been my only motive. I play the best players. They go to the field first, Miettinen emphasizes.
After relegation from the Champions League, Miettinen had stated in his own words to Kauppila that hindsight is easy.
– Before the game and during the game, the coach makes decisions based on the information he has at that moment. You can do anything afterwards. It’s really easy to be an afterthought. I told Vesa directly about this, says Miettinen.
– They tried to intervene in such matters without any competence. I felt like I wasn’t trusted at all. It felt awful.
Allegations of nepotism and criminal complaint
Kauppila describes his conversations with Miettinen as normal sports club activities, especially since the CEO’s responsibility at KuPS also includes the duties of the sports director.
According to Kauppila, he had a lot of discussions about playing with Miettinen’s long-term predecessor Ollipekka Ojala.
Kauppila has previously worked for the KuPS women’s team as a manager, among other things.
Kauppila considers his accusations of nepotism special. According to the KuPS boss, he has brought up his daughter’s gambling only once, while also asking about the bullying of another player.
Then Kauppila asked if it would be worth giving these two players more playing time, because the team seemed tired.
– I do consider the (nepotism) claim to be special. I’m a little worried when a player is included in this discussion, Kauppila says.
According to Miettinen, he lived between a tree and a shell, and the club’s main owner didn’t go out to tell about his experience even in the middle of the season Ari to Lahti.
– It’s quite difficult to say don’t interfere. When the boss calls, it is answered. I was on my toes the whole time about what I dare to say and that I won’t get fired when I don’t play with my daughter, Miettinen described his situation with Kauppila to .
Miettinen also said in his Facebook update that he filed a criminal complaint against KuPS. According to Miettinen, KuPS has illegally leaked information to Savon Sanomat.
The Eastern Finland Police Department confirms that a criminal report was filed with the police in October. The police do not provide more details about the content of the criminal report.
According to Kauppila and Miettinen, the information to be kept secret is related to Miettinen’s warning about inappropriate behavior.
The main owner trusts Kauppila and suspects nepotism accusations
Main owner of KuPS Ari Lahti says that he has full confidence in Kauppila.
– Kauppila has done a good job at KuPS as far as I am aware and have seen. On the other hand, I wonder a little about the tone of the current conversation. Maybe it’s a good thing to get things straight. Let’s all know how things are, Lahti describes.
Lahti does not want to comment on Miettinen’s criminal complaint. The principal owner also states that it is difficult to take a stand on accusations of nepotism.
However, Miettinen started his Facebook update by referring to Lahti and writing “Ari Lahti, I don’t fool anyone just because she is the boss’s daughter.”
– I agree with Pauliina Miettinen about the comment you pointed out to me. It is not correct that such a thing would be required in that position. However, I doubt that Vesa Kauppila would have demanded such a thing, but I don’t know now, Lahti formulates.
Compared to last season, KuPS is preparing for the new season with new names.
Tomi Erola started in mid-November as the new CEO of KuPS. Kauppila is still the chairman of the board.
Miettinen’s replacement as the head coach of KuPS was named after a transfer from the Finnish Football Association Valtteri Kumpuniemi.
According to Lahti, KuPS is currently focusing on the upcoming season, but according to the main owner, Miettinen’s serious accusations should still be reviewed.
Miettinen published his statement a good two months after the end of the season and the KuPS-pesti.
Miettinen hopes that others would be encouraged to talk about their experiences after he came out.
– So many people have contacted me and stated that it is a good thing that these issues are being talked about. These problems are everywhere in adult and junior activities. Now we really need to talk about these issues, says Miettinen.