Sydney football coach Zacharis Imisides is caught up in a legal battle with the sport’s governing body after being suspended for allegedly sending Snapchat messages to a 14-year-old girl.
According to The Daily Telegraph, 41-year old Imisides was issued a four-year suspension by the Football NSW General Purposes Tribunal after he sent a series of purported Snapchat messages to the teenager while he was coaching the Sydney Olympic FC girls squad.
In its published verdict, the tribunal found that the purported texts delivered to the teenager included “Your smile is dangerous” and “good luck been thinking bout [about] u [you] x.”
Another alleged Snapchat message sent on the girl’s birthday read: “I will be waiting for my birthday kiss.”
According to The Daily Telegraph, Imisides has denied sending the messages, which he said were delivered over Snapchat by other people he knows.
Imisides told the tribunal the messages were “taken out of context,” were not sexual in nature, and he did not understand what the letter “x” represented in the messages.
The tribunal found it “simply did not believe” that Mr Imisides “was unaware of the clear message” the letter ‘x’ conveyed in the alleged messages sent to the teenager. The tribunal said the alleged conduct constituted an offence under Football NSW regulations.
Imisides told The Daily Telegraph he has since lodged an appeal against the tribunal decision.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
