The journalist who denounced the Boca coach for sexual abuse speaks out: “They have never communicated with me from the club”

Mark Florence He is 35 years old and has been working as a press officer for eleven years Boca Juniors. In recent years you have dedicated yourself to women’s football, a discipline that is growing and which could be considered “safe” for women. But it was there that in 2022 she was sexually abused by Jorge Martínez, then coach of the First Division team. It was not enough for him to report it internally; no one supported her. So, he went to court and, only after making his complaint public, was the DT separated from his position. “They never communicated with me from Boca”he said this Wednesday.

“Unfortunately yes, unfortunately it had to be made public so that this person was kicked out of his space, out of his place, knowing what was happening. I don’t know what happened because for a year I talked to everyone, trying to prevent it from happening to other women. And because I had no answers, well, I filed an internal complaint and having no answers, because things kept happening, I had to take this court filing. And sadly the local person was fired, being with women and minors, once it went public.“, He complained.

The former Xeneize club women’s football press officer summoned journalists to the door of the prosecutor’s office located at Cerrito 268 – where her case is advancing – to speak for the first time. When asked why Martínez was just fired after winning the classic against River, she replied: “I can’t answer because I’ve been saying for a year that this is not the growth of discipline. It’s not the growth of women’s football to have monsters at home“.

Marco said he worked “many years with men’s football” but “this” never happened to him: “On the contrary, they’ve always taken great care of me.” And he explained that neither when he recounted the situation of sexual abuse that he suffered inside nor after making it public did he receive phone calls from club managers. “No, they never contacted me”, reiterated when asked about the contacts for the club’s gender department, the board of directors, Jorge Ameal or Juan Román Riquelme. “I don’t expect anything from anyone. I’m doing what corresponds, everyone knows what they have to do“, he highlighted.

On his future, meanwhile, the journalist said: “It is very difficult to answer whether I will return to the club because I am going through this situation which requires a lot of energy. I’m not at the moment to make any kind of decision. Obviously Boca has been my home for 11 years, all of you (journalists) are my colleagues. I’ve spent most of my life in these 11 years at Boca, that’s everything for me today.”

Finally, he stressed that reporting sexual abuse “is a long process, it scares you, it makes you ashamed, you don’t understand why it’s happening to you, how it’s happening to you”. “I am an elderly person, I am 35 years old, at the time it happened to me I was 34 years old. I am a professional who has always managed to work with men and this has never happened to me. So, you go into shock, you wonder if what’s happening to you is true, you don’t understand it. But also because sexual abuse is very naturalized,” she analyzed.

“Let’s not naturalize these issues – he asked -, let’s start talking because we have to talk to realize that we are not alone and we are many. From the moment I started talking to you and my colleagues I felt a network of support, care and containment that made the whole pack and this load so much lighter. We have to talk, we have to talk, we all have to talk. By talking we are taking care of ourselves. It is a lie that silence is what corresponds. We have to break this taboo.”

Only on April 4, a few days after Marco’s complaint had been made public and through a statement of just 40 words, Boca formalized Jorge Martínez’s license “until the responsibilities of the case are clarified”. After an internship of who was his assistant on the pitch, Pablo Jerez, it has been confirmed in the last few hours that Florence Quinonesex player of the club, will take over as DT.