Aurich District Court: Player slapped – football coach sentenced by court

A football coach has been sentenced at the Aurich district court for slapping underage players on his team in East Frisia. The defendant was convicted of bodily harm in a large number of cases before the youth jury court and was sentenced to an order under Section 10 of the Youth Court Act, a court spokesman said. No further details were given.

The public had already been excluded before the trial began in the morning - to protect the witnesses and the defendant, as it was said. Legally speaking, the trainer was an adolescent at the time of the alleged crime, i.e. between 18 and under 21 years old.

Regarding the verdict, the court spokesman further said: “Instructions according to the Youth Court Act are commands and prohibitions that regulate the lifestyle of the young person and are thereby intended to promote and secure their upbringing. They can be diverse in nature.” With reference to the exclusion of the public, the court did not provide any further information about the type of instruction that was issued against the man. It was initially not known whether the judgment was already legally binding.

What the public prosecutor accused the coach of

The public prosecutor's office had accused the defendant of a total of 93 crimes that allegedly occurred during his work as a youth soccer coach between 2022 and 2024. According to the district court, the coach is said to have repeatedly slapped and hit players in the face of players from the team he coached in East Frisia when he was not satisfied with their playing performance.

According to the prosecution, the victims suffered “not inconsiderable pain” as a result of the beating. In another case, the coach is said to have thrown a crate of water at a player. He is also said to have kissed a player against his will several times. That's why the public prosecutor's office also charged the trainer with sexual harassment. The court acquitted him of this charge.

Those affected are said to have been young people between the ages of 14 and 18. The court spokesman said there were several victims for whom the public prosecutor's office brought charges. The court did not provide an exact number upon request.

In total, the public prosecutor's office had accused the man of 88 cases of bodily harm, four cases of sexual harassment and one case of grievous bodily harm.