Speaking at length for the first time about abuse allegations within Canada’s elite women’s soccer programs, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has said “the women who have come out are as courageous as hell”.
Montagliani was president of Canada Soccer from 2012 to 2017, and was vice president at the time of the 2008 allegations with specific responsibility for national teams.
Speaking to the Guardian from Mexico where he was attending the Concacaf Champions League final in Monterrey, Montagliani said he recalled the 2008 allegations that former Whitecaps player Ciara McCormack, one of at least 14 former players behind the claims, called “systemic abuse”.
The Guardian reported last month that players from the national under-20 and Vancouver Whitecaps women’s teams allege coach Bob Birarda rubbed a player’s thigh, sent sexually suggestive text messages to a player, and told another during a half-time talk how he thought her body looked in a wet white team jersey, among other claims. A former Whitecaps player described the 2008 events as “the most disgusting thing that a coach can ever do”.
Players and a team manager made complaints at the time and an internal investigation resulted in Birarda negotiating an exit in what Canada Soccer and Vancouver Whitecaps described as a “mutual decision”.
Former players said the 2008 investigation conducted by Canada Soccer and the Vancouver Whitecaps had been a failure as Birarda continued to coach elite girls soccer teams in Vancouver until this earlier year when he was suspended from coaching by his current club - Coastal FC - after the most recent allegations went public.
Players from the Canada and Whitecaps teams say the issue was not taken seriously by Canada Soccer or the Whitecaps hierarchy that includes Canadian soccer icon and Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi who met with several players when they first came forward with concerns over a decade ago.
Montagliani, a key decision maker at the national governing body, said he had not read the full report when it was delivered to Canada Soccer in 2008 but recalled that information presented to the organization’s board had been sufficient to terminate their relationship with the coach.
“Absolutely the allegations were treated seriously,” Montagliani said. “The federation was notified through our general secretariat. Our staff was dispatched to meet with this ombudsman. There were a couple of days of discussions and interviews and after that it was deemed that this coach was no longer with our program. He was not an employee of the federation. We would just pay him a per diem as he was coaching. He parted ways with our program and the Whitecaps followed suit in parting ways with him as well. I never saw the report but the information that was given to the board [was sufficient].”
Montagliani implied the issue was considered closed until the allegations resurfaced earlier this year.
“Don’t forget I was president of the federation from 2012 to 2017 and there was never anything or anyone that ever came forward in any capacity and said ‘Hey, I need help, or ‘We have an issue’ or not an issue,” he said. “If they did, trust me, it would have been dealt with swiftly.”
Asked how Birarda was able to continue coaching girls at a Vancouver club just months after being released from his role with the national body and Whitecaps following allegations of abuse, Montagliani said national organizations do not deal with coach registrations and responsibility lies with regional governing bodies or local clubs.
“I have no answer to that because I don’t know what the process is in terms of hiring or a background check,” said Montagliani, who is also a Fifa vice-president. “That is a question better posed to the local football organization. It has been a while since I was at the national federation but national federations don’t deal with registrations. There are thousands of youth coaches across the country. Processes or safeguards: that stuff has to be dealt with at grassroots and domestic level. These are important risk management issues that have to be dealt with at a local level.”
The most recent allegations – at least 14 former players have came forward with their recollections of the 2008 events – have prompted protests by Vancouver Whitecaps fans at recent Major League Soccer matches. Those supporters are angered by what they see as an inadequate response to the players’ concerns by the Whitecaps. FifPro, the global organization representing professional players, has called for Canada Soccer to fully investigate the allegations.
Bob Birarda, the coach under the spotlight, has not responded to multiple requests for an interview from The Guardian.
“That is not an easy thing [for the players to go public],” Montagliani said. “I am the father of two daughters so I am very sensitive to hearing any of these issues. They are allegations and we have to be legally cognizant of that. Having said that, there is no room in the game for anything like this. I don’t think anything like this should be in and around our society, for sure, but also in or around the game.”
Asked if the issue could have been better handled at the time, Vancouver-native Montagliani said he had faith in how Canada Soccer, Vancouver Whitecaps, and local governing body BC Soccer, were reviewing the recent claims.
“I haven’t seen any reports come out and from what I understand they are looking at they way it was handled,” Montagliani said. “If anything like that comes out - that things could have been handled better - of course I would support any recommendations in terms of processes. Why wouldn’t you support that?”