Vera Pauw ‘disappointed’ by Karen Duggan’s criticism of defensive low block in Irish Times column

Never a dull moment on the Vera Pauw beat.

The Republic of Ireland manager shared a stage in the salubrious Marker Hotel, as part of an International Women’s Day event hosted by the FAI’s primary sponsor Sky, before providing enough lines to pen three stories.

Before explaining how a sustainable legacy comes from Ireland competing at their first World Cup and before criticising Karen Duggan’s column in The Irish Times, Pauw questioned the legitimacy of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)-commissioned report into systematic abuse.

The 60-year-old is banned from coaching professionally in America, after the report stated that Houston Dash players “credibly” accused Pauw of weight-shaming in 2018.

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Pauw, who denies any wrongdoing, subsequently approached Iowa-based attorney Thomas Newkirk to broker a settlement with US soccer authorities.

Newkirk told the Sunday Times that the NWSL-hired lawyers who wrote the report, “applied a ‘trauma-centred’ approach to the investigations, which means that they evaluated the victims as if they were telling the truth first and almost require that the person accused prove themselves not guilty. That approach is irresponsible”.

Pauw, when asked if Newkirk’s comments question the report’s legitimacy, replied: “Yes. It was not an investigation. It was a report on people saying [allegations]. For me, I understand it to be two players.”

The Dutch woman is also adamant that this ongoing legal issue will not impact Irish preparations for two matches next month against the USA, in Austin, Texas and St Louis, Missouri.

“Not for a second,” said Pauw, to whether she fears returning to Texas. “My family, they asked me ‘why do you do this to yourself?’ I am there to have the best preparation for the World Cup. That is the only task I have on my plate, not to save myself or protect myself, so I know that it can be nasty maybe.”

Any nastiness since the report was published?

“No hardly, one or two lunatics. Then just nothing. Really one or two, and then mad things, they do it to everybody. You just read out the comments.

“My biggest question is why would do you do this to me? Does it give you status?”

On football matters, the Ireland manager disagreed with Duggan’s criticism of her defensively-minded style of play, where a low block of five defenders is religiously employed to the detriment of a sharp attack built around Katie McCabe.

“Of course I’m a bit disappointed, especially hearing it from a player who has retired,” said Pauw before conceding that “yes, we do need to score. Yes, we need to get there more often. It is not that I love a deep block, I love winning. The low block is not me but the low block is what this team needs to perform and win.”

Duggan disagrees.

The lunch itself was a celebratory affair with Eileen Gleeson, Pauw’s former assistant, impressing in her first public outing as the FAI’s head of women and girls football.

Any sustained legacy from Ireland competing at their first major tournament was framed last October when Pauw identified visible progress for women’s football being the establishment of an under-15s league and under-15s national side, alongside gender-mixed teams that ensure an uninterrupted pathway from age six to adult. Like the boys have had for decades

“The under-15 league and under-15 national team are on the highest point of the agenda when it comes a to women’s football development,” said Pauw. “I’d be disappointed if it [does not happen] from the way we have talked about it and the way everyone is behaving.”

Since 2020 football clubs in Ireland with girls sections have risen from 30 to 120.

“Look at St Kevin’s, they have put ‘boys plus girls’ on the shirt now. [They guaranteed an equal share of pitches], and for a club like that I understood that is a massive step forward. Now it is for others to follow.”