FURTHER shocking claims have emerged following allegations from multiple female footballers who said coaches made unwanted sexual advances on them in the 1990s which has been fully denied by them.
A shocking investigation from RTE and the Sunday Independent has revealed allegations against one FAI coach who made inappropriate sexual advances to players under his training.
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Former Ireland international players have also made claims that ex-manager Mick Cooke made sexual advances against girls.
Lynn Winters and former goalkeeper Lorraine Maher claimed that towards the end of their training course in Leixlip, Eamon Collins turned into a very difficult coach.
Winters was 18 when she joined the FAS course in Leixlip which was set up to train players at an international level, led by Eamon Collins.
Maher recalled how she and Winters were singled out by Collins to the point they were made wear bin bags on the pitch as a “weight loss measure”.
Maher said: “I was fit as a fiddle, and he just got this thing that me and this other player needed to drop weight and made us do the 12 minute run and play soccer in black bags.”
Winters added: “We used to jog around the pitch but you’d always hear me and another girl coming behind them with the bags, the noise of the black bags rubbing on us. This went on for ages. That’s where it wasn’t enjoyable anymore.”
Collins and Cooke emphatically and unreservedly deny any improper relationship or conduct and all of the allegations made.
Allegations against Eamon Collins
A series of allegations have also been made about Eamon Collins – a coach who led an FAI FAS course for women in Leixlip, Co Kildare.
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The player, referred to as Adele in the investigation, says that Collins asked her to remain back in the changing rooms after one session and made an unwanted sexual advance on her.
Another player, Lynn Winters, was 18 when she joined the course and said she went on dates with Collins, who was 32 at the time.
She told the investigation that the dates would include going to the cinema where Collins would “have his hands all over me, it was just nasty”.
Winters, who is gay, said she “just went with it” as Cooke was the manager and may not have picked her or had her as captain, but never touched him.
She said at one point Collins pinched her crotch while they were talking to Alan Ball – a former World Cup winner with England.
She said Ball had “no clue” what he had done but she was furious and thought to herself “that’s the last time you’ll ever f***ng touch me”.
Allegations against Mick Cooke
Jackie McCarthy O’Brien, who was openly gay at the time, claimed Cooke had called her to his hotel room following a match and kissed her in 1993.
She said: “I thought I was safe because I was gay. And then the next thing, it’s like he’s leaning over and grabbing you by the shoulders to kiss you and kisses you on the lips. I’m like gobsmacked.”
Jackie managed to leave the hotel room but said she was never called up to play for Ireland again following the incident.
She said: “I’m not the only one. We all have our stories.”
FAI response
The Football Association of Ireland made a statement following last night’s RTE Investigates which saw numerous footballers come forward about inappropriate advances.
The FAI has now held a media briefing in response to the allegations, issuing a statement regarding the stark allegations.
Attended by FAI Interim CEO David Courell and People and Culture Director Aoife Rafferty, the FAI said they are treating the allegations “with the utmost priority and seriousness.”
They noted that they have met with the women involved and “acknowledges their tremendous courage in coming forward to report their experiences. They have reopened very dark periods of their lives in order to ensure that these matters are finally addressed and never happen to anyone else.
“The association believes unequivocally that everyone involved in Irish football should at all times feel that they are in a safe environment and that the appropriate processes and practices are in place.”
Homophobic rants claim
Cooke has also been accused of making homophobic rants in front of players and dropping some who were gay, allegedly describing some LGBT players as “vampires”.
Footballer Katie Liston revealed in the investigation, which was made alongside the Sunday Independent, that she was once pulled from the Ireland team after she was told that Cooke was “getting rid of the lesbians”.
Former FAI CEO Bernard O’Byrne went on to claim that in 2000, Cooke came into his office for a “homophobic rant”.
He said: “I remember him saying ‘They’re all gay and they’re undermining me as a coach and it’s not fair and something needs to be done’.”
Earlier this year in March, Cooke was issued a “stand down” notice from the FAI for his role as head coach of the DCU women’s team
He has vigorously denied all of the allegations brought to light in the series, with his solicitor saying: “He has been involved in football all his life and has never before been the subject of any complaint or allegation of the nature you now make.”
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