Friday, February 27, 2026 - A former SCR Altach women's football player has criticised a court's decision to hand a man a seven-month suspended prison sentence with £1,046 (€1,200) fine after he secretly photographed and filmed players in changing rooms and showers.
The man, who is a former top-level Swiss referee, was
accused of secretly recording the young women using a concealed smartphone and
through a keyhole during his time as an official at the Austrian football club.
Around 30 players were identified on the recording and
pictures. A report also stated that the youngest was born in 2007 and the
oldest in 1995.
The man, who worked at the club between 2020 and 2025, was
ordered to pay each victim £544 (€620).
The case is reported to have shaken football in Austria,
with over 100 spectators attending the courtroom in Feldkirch, which is on the
border with Switzerland. Although the defendant accepted the verdict, the
public prosecutor is yet to decide whether she wants to apply for an appeal.
Eleni Rittmann, 25, who played for the top-flight Austrian team at the time, posted an outraged statement on social media.
This leaves me speechless,' Rittmann, who was not one of the
players identified on the seized recordings, said.
'The perpetrator was not only a top-level referee in
Switzerland but also an official at Altach. And that is where he filmed
players, including minors. I then ask myself, is this an appropriate
punishment?
'I also ask myself, does such a punishment act as a
deterrent for others? We felt secure in our dressing room and this hurt our
privacy so badly that some of us do not feel safe in public showers even now.
'For me, this is not a strong enough signal for something
that is not tolerated in our society. The verdict is not final as the
prosecutor has requested additional time to consider an appeal.'
During the trial, a statement from the victims was read out,
saying: 'We are young women, partly still young girls. What has happened has
pulled the rug from under our feet. For years, he told us that the dressing
room was our home, but this home was then destroyed by someone who we thought
was part of this family.'
A lawyer for the victims called the case a 'catastrophe for
women's football'.
Austrian sports minister Michaela Schmidt labelled the
alleged crimes 'disgusting' in October when they were first reported. 'If
female athletes are not even safe in their own dressing rooms because of an
official, then they have nothing to stand on,' Schmidt said.
At the beginning of the trial, the defendant said: 'I plead
partially guilty.'
In his final words, the defendant addressed the victims to
apologise. He said: 'I agree with the statements made by my lawyer, but I would
still like to express my sympathy to all those affected and apologise for my
actions.'
The court mitigated the sentence by taking into account his
partial confession and his lack of previous convictions.
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