Jessica Ennis-Hill’s disgraced ex-coach controversially returns to athletics despite permanent ban for sexual misconduct
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JESSICA ENNIS-HILL’S disgraced ex-coach Toni Minichiello has made a shock return to front-line athletics coaching despite his UK-wide ban.
Controversial Minichiello, 58, was spotted in the stands on Sunday for a track meeting in the Polish city of Torun.
He was working with Polish athlete Adrianna Sulek-Schubert – the 2022 world indoor pentathlon silver medallist – at the Copernicus Cup indoor meeting.
This role does not contravene the UK Athletics suspension he received in August 2022 when he was banned for life from training athletes in Great Britain.
A disciplinary panel appointed by the UKA Board decided that he had “made inappropriate sexual references and gestures to athletes” over a 15-year period.
Allegations included “unwanted touching of athletes to whom he owed a duty of care” and “engaging in inappropriate and sometimes aggressive behaviour, bullying and emotional abuse”.
Minichiello – who guided Dame Ennis-Hill to London 2012 Olympics heptathlon glory – “strongly denied all the charges” against him.
He said at the time he was “disappointed with this decision” and with “UK Athletics’ unfair handling of this process”.
Marek Plawgo, a former athlete and one of the vice-presidents of the Polish Athletics Association (PZLA), says Minichiello receives no funding from their organisation and his appearance over the weekend caught them by surprise.
He said on X: “PZLA declares that Adrianna Sułek-Schubert made the decision to cooperate with Toni Minichiello completely independently.
“Coach Minichiello is not financed by PZLA”.
Sulek-Schubert, 25, had a baby last year and then appeared at the Paris Olympics in the heptathlon but has not qualified for next month’s European Athletics Indoor Championship in Holland.
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It is not known if Minichiello — a former Coach of the Year at SPOTY — can support her if she makes the start list for the World Indoor Championships in China.
A World Athletics spokesperson said: “World Athletics has the ability to deny accreditation to any of its World Athletics Series events should it be necessary.”
Minichiello was suspended by UKA in 2021 before being found guilty of 11 serious charges the following years, including mimicking sexual activity and touching an athlete’s breasts, as well as bullying and mental abuse.
Following the outcome of the investigation, Minichiello said: “I cannot fully express my disappointment with this decision and with UK Athletics’ unfair handling of this process. I strongly deny all the charges made against me.
“I have been a coach for over 30 years and while I have been robust and demanding, I have not behaved inappropriately towards any of my athletes as very many of them would confirm.”
Ennis-Hill said at the time: “The allegations are awful and although I was never on the receiving end of any sexual physical behaviour, any such inappropriate behaviour or language has no place in any coaching or work environment.”
UK Athletics declined to comment about his new gig.