The move follows pressure from players’ unions, including the Austrian players’ union (VdF) and the global players’ union Fifpro. The ban was initially imposed after a regional court in Feldkirch, Austria, handed the man a seven-month suspended prison sentence, a €1,200 fine and ordered him to pay the victims €625 each in compensation for secretly filming and photographing players, including minors, between 2018 and 2025.
The ban now applies globally, with Christos Papadimitriou, the women’s football coordinator at the VdF, stating that those who seriously violate players’ rights cannot escape the consequences by moving abroad. The decision has become binding and final, as the man did not request a statement of the reasons for the decision within a prescribed timeframe.