Delhi Court issues arrest warrant for former U-17 Women's coach Alex Ambrose

The coach has been booked under Section 12 of the POSCO Act

Former Indian Women’s U17 team’s assistant coach Alex Ambrose has had an arrest warrant issued against him for his alleged 'misconduct' during the team's Europe tour in June 2022.

The Additional Sessions Judge at the Dwarka Court, New Delhi, has issued the arrest against Ambrose for flouting the conditions of his bail and breach of the bond. According to the court records, the case against the coach was registered on October 27, 2022. The court will hold the next hearing on 25th February.

What happened with Ambrose last year?

Alex Ambrose was hit with a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) case last year. This came after the allegations emerged of his ‘sexual misconduct’ with a minor player of the U-17 team during a friendly tour of Europe in July.

Section 12 of the POSCO act states that anyone who commits sexual harassment upon a child is liable to be punished with jail time that might extend up to three years.

Ambrose was sent home from Norway because of the incident, with the All India Football Federation sacking him. After the incident, the Committee of Administrators (COA) informed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for further escalation.

Back then, a statement from the COA read: “An event of misconduct has been reported in the U-17 women's team, currently on an exposure tour to Europe. The AIFF follows a zero-tolerance policy on indiscipline. As an initial action, the Federation has provisionally suspended the individual pending further investigation.”

Ambrose strongly defends the charges against him

Alex Ambrose strongly denied all the allegations against him after being sacked last year. His advocate Madhukar P. Dalvi claimed that he ‘has been a victim of malafide and ulterior motives and objects at the instance of and behest of the All India Football Federation.’

In fact, he issued a legal notice against the AIFF for the wrongful termination of his contract. The U-17 Women’s team saw their European tour disrupted by the shocking alleged incident. Ambrose was reportedly linked to join the Women’s side of Sethu FC a few months ago, but that never went through.