Republic of Ireland women’s manager Vera Pawe has been accused of ‘weight shaming’ by former players at the US club she managed in 2018, but Pawe denied any reference to players’ performance or tracking their weight at the Houston Dash.

The allegations were detailed in a joint report released by America’s top women’s league, the NWSL, and the NWSL Players Association, following their year-long joint investigation into widespread reports of misconduct by several other coaches in the NWSL.

It summarized that Pau shamed players for their weight and tried to exert excessive control over their eating habits: “Players have reliably reported that players have been criticized for their appearance – for example, some players have been told they are “too fat”, while praising other players for losing weight, which has nothing to do with performance or health. There is no apparent connection.

“Players reported that Pau’s comments affected a teammate struggling with an eating disorder. »

According to the report, Pau was questioned as part of the investigation but she refused to cooperate. However, she denied the allegations against her in writing, including a statement that she “never commented on a player’s appearance or followed players’ weight.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said on Thursday that Pav continued to enjoy their support, adding in a statement: “The FA is aware of the joint NWSL/NWSLPA report referred to by Vera Pav.

“Neither the FAI nor Vera were aware of this report prior to its publication and we note that Vera has expressed her views to the authors of the report.

“The FAI continues to support Vera and her team as they prepare for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.”

In a statement posted by the Houston Dash on social media, they “apologise to current and former players who were victims of misconduct at the hands of head coach Vera Pau in 2018” as well as apologize for what the report called “emotional misconduct.” Allegedly done by James. Clarkson was their head coach until his indefinite suspension in April.

England manager Clarkson’s contract, which was due to expire at the end of 2022, will not be renewed, the club confirmed on Wednesday. In April, Clarkson, who was born in Cambridgeshire but has lived and coached in Houston for more than 20 years. He called the allegations against him baseless.