Familiar with helmers Paula Myllyoja is now an unemployed goalkeeper. The 39-year-old Myllyoja played in the big Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki last season, but felt that he had to leave. He emphasizes that he decided to leave himself, although other information is circulating.
Myllyoja became public about it earlier this week, when he said that he had canceled his contract in his Instagram update. In his publication, Myllyoja listed racism, subjugation, verbal abuse, bullying, defamation of players and underestimation as problems.
– I found out that PAOK would have said that they fired me. It’s black and white, that’s not true at all, Myllyoja, who recently returned to Finland, told Urheilu.
Myllyoja matured completely because of how rudely PAOK treated their players, most of whom were still minors. The head coach Thalis Theodoridis raised Myllyoja’s suspicions already in the summer.
– Things actually escalated from the first phone call I had with the coach before I had even flown to Greece, Myllyoja returned to the events of last summer.
Myllyoja stresses that there were flaws in the team’s entire operational culture. He didn’t even feel that he was in the worst situation.
– The things I experienced didn’t necessarily affect me the most, but my teammates. But I had the opportunity to leave because my financial situation is stable. The club cannot ruin my reputation or prevent my transfer to other teams, Myllyoja said.
In Greece, the status of women is not at all at the same level as, for example, in Finland.
– There are problems related to the position of women in Greek culture. Things are handled according to the hierarchy. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t personally experienced how some people are in a subordinate position compared to others. It is not perceived as special in any way. People in power feel that there is no need for things to change.
“Underage players were humiliated”
Myllyoja describes how harshly the players were treated.
– Underage players were humiliated and shouted at. If the player did not make the pass the coach wanted, he was ordered to run around the field. After all, it was embarrassing the player and surely teaches nothing but fear, Myllyoja pointed out.
– You never knew where you could get screams from. I was always in fight or flight mode.
According to Myllyoja, the players’ opinions were only seemingly listened to.
– A really blatant case of bullying that occurred in the team was justified by saying it’s football. I tried to say that players left the club because there was a bad bullying problem. The only answer I got was Paul, it’s football.
Even in the training season, the players’ sleep at night was non-existent, but the coaching management did not want to take the matter seriously.
– I wanted to talk about the fact that we had a problem because the night’s sleep was only five hours. This was because practice times were what they were. I think that a night’s sleep is an important thing for an athlete in the pre-season. The answer was laughter and the question, “do you go partying when you don’t sleep for once”, Myllyoja said.
Myllyoja found the situation unbearable because there were underage players in the team.
– The situation was made more shocking by the fact that a large part of the team’s players were minors. They need sleep even more than adult athletes.
Fear silenced the players
Myllyoja believes that conflicts could have arisen on a daily basis, but fear silenced the players. In the culture, it is not customary to question authority figures.
– In Finland, we can’t even understand how important it is to be a member of PAOK in Greece. You don’t dare to speak because you would lose everything if you did. A 16-year-old player’s school place may depend on the club and the family’s reputation is tied to the club.
There were enough strange events. For example, when PAOK traveled to Austria for a Champions League match.
– We left Thessaloniki at eight in the evening and took a bus overnight to Athens, where we arrived at 3:30 in the morning. We waited three hours for the flight until we flew to Austria. When the training started in Austria, the coach said in front of everyone that “now is a good day to train because we are all well rested”. The situation was so absurd that what could even be said about it, Myllyoja was amazed.
How did the club react when you announced you were leaving?
– One person from the club contacted me, but no one from the coaching staff. They didn’t contact me anyway. For example, if I reported my absence due to illness, my messages were not answered, Myllyoja described.
– Many are stuck in this situation. In women’s football and perhaps in other women’s sports, it is typical that you study at university and there are no other clubs nearby. So there are no options, because you would have to change schools as well and it is not quite simple. If the company pays for the apartment and the salary, what is left for the person who gives them up.
Physical violence in Italy
Although the year in Greece was tough, Myllyoja has lived through even tougher times. Started in autumn 2019 in the Italian Serie A team, Pink Bar had its own chapter.
– The worst was my second year in Italy, it was a traumatizing experience that left lifelong scars. There was worse verbal and even physical violence and salaries not being paid for long periods of time. But I was competing for a place in the European Championship team and was advised that it would look better if I stuck it out until the end of the season.
– Having learned from Italy, I knew that I could no longer be subjugated and intimidated by saying that “if you leave here, you will no longer have any company”. I knew that I would find my place in the world, even if some people tried to ruin my reputation, Myllyoja said.
But what next? Myllyoja still doesn’t have an answer to that.
– I have already replied to a few clubs that “no thanks”. I am grateful that I was contacted immediately. It shows that I have done things right in my life. Transfer windows have expired in many countries. I thought that now is a good time to take a mental break and practice.
Myllyoja sees that the decision to leave Greece was hard, but the right one.
– I feel like I did the right thing now. I have made difficult decisions in my life before that were based on my values. I want to believe that this decision will also lead to something better. I hope my career doesn’t end here at least.