“Contradictions, lies and omissions” in the trial against Jorge Martínez, the coach of the Boca women’s team accused of sexual abuse

On March 7, 2023, Florencia Marcó, press officer of the Boca women’s soccer team denounced before the Court that the team’s coach, Jorge Martinez, had harassed and sexually abused her since the beginning of 2022. He then said that all club authorities were aware of the situation and that no one had done anything about it. This Friday, a year later, the trial began. For five hours, 14 witnesses testified, of which 11 have an employment relationship with the club. “They only told lies”assures Clarion Andrea Lucangioli, Marcó’s lawyer.

“The account of these witnesses was full of contradictions and liesas in the case of the two members of the Soccer Council, Jorge Bermudez y Marcelo Delgado, who stated that they had learned about the abuse and harassment from the press. The victim, Florencia Marco, stated that the three members of the Soccer Council, Bermúdez, Delgado and Raúl Cascini, They were informed of the situation of abuse and harassment towards her and other players“Details Lucangioli.

“According to his statements, They are in charge of defining the work methodology, supervise training, and the work of coaches. Given what has been said, we ask ourselves, How can they do it correctly and without actively intervening when they already There is a report prepared by the Club’s Inclusion Department, regarding the abuse and harassment of Jorge Martínez? This highlights the pact of chivalry between boysas they call themselves, where one acts as the main author of the incident and the others as accomplices who cover it up,” the lawyer continues.

And he says more: “While the trial was taking place behind closed doors, outside in the hallway, there was the lawyer accompanying another of the members of the Soccer Council, Mauricio Serna, advising the witnesses of both parties, currently linked to the Institution. : ‘They don’t have to say anything they don’t want to’, ‘if you forgot, you forgot’, ‘they’re going to explain to you that the statement is under oath, but that’s just to scare you, because nothing happens’. All of these recommendations were accompanied by sandwiches and drinks for everyone. This advice to witnesses resulted in lies, contradictions and omissions when testifying.”

“The clear, reliable and coherent stories came from people who are currently not linked with Club Atlético Boca Juniors,” he says.

Florence Marco He is 36 years old and has been working as a press in Boca for twelve years. Juniors (now on leave). In 2022 she took charge of women’s football communication. But immediately, he claims, the harassment and abuse by Martínez, then coach of the First Division team, began. He also said that several players suffered harassment from the coach. He said repeatedly that he reported everything internally; and that no one ever did anything. Tired, she went to court and, only after making her complaint public, the DT was removed from his position.

“Specialist teams on the subject must be assembled in the inclusion and equality departments that know, and are prepared, that they respect the protocols, which in this case were not respected at any time“says the lawyer, who specializes in discrimination and gender.

“When the psychologist from the Department of Inclusion and Equality of Boca spoke, in the oral trial, the judge was perplexed. The psychologist said that she had not found the touching serious or important enough to take any kind of measures, and that is why they passed it on to human resources to give her a license because it had to do with something work-related, but that abuse, harassment or touching did not seem so important to him towards Marco and the rest of the players to make some type of determination within the Inclusion and Equality Department,” she says.

“The person who signed the report was a social worker who had been called to advise, and when they asked him what he did and if he was a gender specialist, He only said that he had taken a course and that he enjoyed the subject, a disaster. They do something like that but they don’t work seriously, he says. Inclusion and gender departments must be implemented in clubs with teams specialized in the matter., with psychologists, lawyers, social workers. So when a complaint comes they know how to work.”

“When I asked the Boca Inclusion Department what they were going to do, they told me that they were going to transfer the case to a disciplinary court, and now in the oral trial They said there was no discipline department. Everything is like what, but nothing is done, they don’t give it importance,” says the lawyer.

And he makes a comparison with the complaint made by a sports journalist to four Vélez players: “Hat to the president of Vélez who immediately disengaged the players for the duration of the investigation and called the victim by phone. Flor has been working in Boca for twelve years and has never had problems with anyone. And no one ever called her, a disaster.”

“Harassment and abuse in football continue because They are men who maintain power, because abuse and harassment towards women has become natural. Because it is their way of handling and bonding. Because They maintain this pact of chivalry between them. They impose fear on victims of abuse and violence. That’s why This trial can mark a before and after so that this type of behavior ends,” concludes Lucangioli.

The trial – Oral Court No. 22 led by Sergio Paduczak, with the Oral Prosecutor’s Office No. 22 led by Dr. Martínez Burgos, intervened – entered into an intermission at the request of the former soccer player’s defense. It resumes this Monday at 9:30 in the Comodoro Py Courts. Pleadings will then be presented and the verdict read.