The coach of Belgium’s national women’s vollyball team the Yellow Tigers, Gert Vande Broek has been suspended for 1 year for misconduct. The decision to suspend him was taken at a meeting of the Disciplinary Board of the Belgian Volleyball Association on Friday. It is not yet clear whether the suspension means that Gert Vande Broek will miss the European Volleyball Championship. He has 10 days to appeal against his suspension.
The case of Gert Vande Broek has been haunting the national women's volleyball team for quite some time. In 2021, some ex-internationals accused Gert Vande Broek, who has been national coach for 17 years, of psychological transgressive behavior. They did so in a documentary broadcast on the VRT’s television channel Canvas. The national team coach was allowed to stay and is currently with the national women’s volleyball team in Sweden. An investigation was launched into the allegations of misconduct. A lawyer acting on behalf of the Volleyball Association saw sufficient reasons to request a suspension of 2 years. Gert Vande Broek's lawyer, Walter Damen called for his client’s acquittal. The one-year suspension handed out on Friday meets both parties halfway. The suspension should take immediate effect, and this would mean that Gert Vande Broek would be unable to coach the team at the European Championship that will be played in Belgium from 15 August to 3 September. He has 10 days to appeal and the suspension (if it were upheld) would then not take effect until the appeal had been heard. There seems to be little animosity towards Gert Vande Broek among the current national team. They wrote another open letter asking for the coach to be allowed to go with them to the European Championships.
Comments