Jurmala Football School’s coach Sabīna Ādmine has been suspended after smacking a child during football match, LETA reports.
The incident took place at Lidl Arena last Sunday. A football match in the U7 and U8 groups (children under seven and eight years) was being held there.
According to the video available to LETA, after one part of the match, the JFS coach approached a player from the opposing team – Metta Football School – and shoved him by smacking on the back of his head.
JFS Principal Kaspars Gorkšs told LETA that the school acted in accordance with procedures after this incident – the coach is suspended, and the school is in contact with appropriate institutions.
Commenting on whether there have been complaints about the coach in the past, Gorkšs said that complaints tend to be of a different nature. “A safe environment is a priority for JFS and any complaints are handled with the utmost care and responsibility in accordance with internal regulations and national procedures. In this case, we have recorded violations, contacted the responsible authorities and suspended the coach,” said the head of the school.
Gorkšs stressed that such incidents are unacceptable.
JFS is a Jurmala municipality professional oriented sports education institution that implements free football training. The school welcomes boys and girls between the ages of four and 15 in vocational education and interest education programs.