FIFA Makes Former Altach Employee's Football Ban Worldwide

FIFA has extended worldwide a ban on football-related activity imposed on a former match official and SCR Altach employee who was convicted of secretly recording members of the Austrian club's women's team. The Guardian reported that FIFA's disciplinary committee made the extension on August 4 following requests from player unions.

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A regional court in Feldkirch convicted the man in February over videos and photographs taken between 2018 and 2025. According to the report, the recordings involved players, including minors, and were made in the women's team's changing room, gym and showers. The court imposed a seven-month suspended prison sentence and a €1,200 fine.

The court also ordered the man to pay €625 in compensation to each victim. The ruling and sentence prompted outrage among former Altach players and more broadly in Austria, bringing pressure for football authorities to ensure that the disciplinary consequences could not be avoided by leaving the country.

Austria's players' union, known as VdF, and global union FIFPRO asked FIFA to broaden the restriction. National federations can apply football-related bans only within their own jurisdictions, while FIFA's action gives the measure worldwide effect. The man did not seek a statement explaining the disciplinary decision within the prescribed period.

As a result, the FIFA decision has become binding and final, according to The Guardian. Christos Papadimitriou, the women's football coordinator at VdF, said the worldwide measure sent a signal that serious violations of players' rights could not be escaped by moving abroad.

The case comes as player representatives press football authorities for stronger cross-border safeguards. The Czech players' union has separately sought a lifetime football ban for former FC Slovacko coach Petr Vlachovsky, who was convicted of similar offences and possessing child sexual abuse material. FIFPRO said in March that it was exploring legal avenues on behalf of players to pursue a global ban in that separate case.