Coach in the scandal center. Serious allegations against the Pole

The coach was convicted in 2023, but despite the prohibitions – as the victims explain – he still shows up at matches. Further proceedings are also pending in his case.

One of the players decided to refer to the case in Gazeta Wyborcza.

A 21-year-old woman trained in Krakow. She attended the renowned Gortat school, where students combine education with professional training. She moved there from her hometown to be able to develop her skills in an elite sports class.

– Rugby was my whole life. I was 15 years old, moved out of the house and lived a hundred kilometers away. I got to the Gortat school in Krakow, to the rugby class. I was guaranteed a place in the boarding school. Fulfillment of dreams! -a 21-year-old woman says today.

Alcohol and hands under the blouse

In the summer of 2021, the player and her friends had a chance to qualify for the national team. Coach Łukasz K. offered them to participate in the preparation camp in Białka Tatrzańska, where they were to train under his watch. For young rugbyists it was a great opportunity to develop and present their skills before selection to the Polish national team.

What was supposed to be a sports breakthrough became a nightmare. According to the injured account, the coach invited the players to go to thermal baths in the evening, despite the fact that the whole team was to go there the next day as part of the official camp plan. Along the way, he bought alcohol and began to treat underage players with it.

– He came to us and asked if we would go to thermal with him – even though the next day we were to go there with the whole camp. (…) On the way, the trainer joined the store and bought some flavored vodka, probably cherry. In turn, he served us a bottle so that we would drink. We mainly drank on thermal baths. First drinks, then began to buy us Szota – recalls one of the players.

During the evening, the coach repeatedly raised intimate topics about the girl’s personal life, and then took them to a gas station, where he bought another portion of alcohol. After returning to the hotel, he came to their room, forcing them to continue drinking. In the account of one of the players we read:

– I was totally shaken, I cried and stewed from crying. (…) The girls pretended to drink that he would go.

The next day, the trainer tried to pretend that nothing had happened. He brought tea to the player and asked if something had happened “. In the following days, the atmosphere at the camp was tense, and the injured rugby player tried to avoid any contact with Łukasz K.

Consequences for the team and the club

The player suppressed trauma for the next months. However, everything broke when in November of the same year she went to the next camp and saw the coach again. Then she decided to share her story with her friends.

The whole team was on the injured side. The girls met with a school psychologist and solidarity resigned from the game in the Juvenia Kraków club.

– We stopped going to training. Day by day. A total of a dozen or so girls. We demanded that the trainer be removed. Our team has broken up – recalls one of the players.

The school reacted immediately – the trainer was released, and the case went to law enforcement agencies. The Polish Rugby Association and the Juvenia Krakow club were informed about the events. However, the institution’s reaction was, according to the players, far from the expected.

Court proceedings and conviction of the trainer

The lawsuit showed that Łukasz K. was overwhelmed by juvenile players in 2021 six times. In addition to incidents in Białka Tatrzańska, he served alcohol to rugbyists during tournaments in Poznań and Sopot. On October 9, 2023, the court sentenced him to a fine and a two -year ban on holding positions related to the education and education of young people.

Despite the conviction, the Juvenia Kraków club and the Polish Rugby Association did not take decisive actions to completely remove the coach from the sports environment. He still appears at children and youth tournaments, which is documented by numerous photos.

The coach still appears at tournaments

Contrary to the decision of the court, Łukasz K. was seen at numerous sporting events:

• October 26, 2023 – tournament “Mini World Cup in Rugby Tag” in Raba Niżna, where he was sitting at the organizers’ table.

• April 28, 2024 – Regional Tournament of Children and Youth in Częstochowa, where he stood right at the pitch.

• May 2024 – a tournament in Lubień, where he was seen at a table with cups.

The Juvenia Kraków club explains that there are no legal grounds to prohibit his access to sporting events. The Polish Rugby Association also washes his hands, arguing that Łukasz K. formally does not have an active coaching license.

Meanwhile, the injured rugbyists are still struggling with the trauma. One of them says directly:

– Four years have passed. And I still can’t even look at rugby.