The Football Association have banned former Charlton assistant head coach Danny Senda for four years after he admitted ‘sexually assaulting’ two women whilst on an overseas course.

The governing body has confirmed Senda, who left The Valley last summer, has been found guilty of Rule E3.1 in relation to the coach’s improper behaviour towards two females.

The FA has said it is ‘deeply sorry’ to the two women, who had been on a coaching course overseas with Senda, 42, last year.

Senda pulled ‘complainant A’ towards him before proceeding to ‘put his left arm around the back of her right shoulder and put his other hand down the front of her shorts’.

Danny Senda (right), pictured during his time as Charlton Athletic’s assistant head coach, has been banned by the Football Association for four years after admitting a sexual assault

The document continues to state that Senda ‘placed his hand inside of her shorts ‘roughly up to the palm of his hand’ so that his fingers were also inside her shorts’

‘Complainant A’ pushed Senda’s arm away and said, “what the f*** are you doing?”. 

Senda responded by putting one hand on her back and the other on her arm and said, “you’re f***ing coming back to my room” before the first complainant responded strongly to say she would not be.

‘Complainant B’ said she felt someone’s hands come from behind her, rest upon her chest and place one hand on each of her breasts. She turned around to see it was Senda.

She then walked away and left the bar with the first woman.

The FA’s report says it is clear Senda perpetrated a ‘criminal, sexual assault’ on both females.

The women reported the incidents to course leaders, and Senda was immediately told to leave. 

Senda requested the opportunity to apologise, and the women agreed to meet him before he flew back to the UK. The women then formally complained to the FA.

Senda is pictured during his playing days at Wycombe – he was banned after touching two women inappropriately during an overseas training course

They opted not to make a criminal complaint, and with the incident occurring overseas the UK authorities had no jurisdiction to act.

The independent commission, which issued the four-year ban to Senda, said these were breaches of ‘the utmost seriousness’ and that they ‘amounted to the commission of criminal offences that could never be condoned or tolerated in any environment’.

An FA spokesperson said: ‘Women deserve to be involved in professional football without the fear of any form of abuse.

‘This was a shocking case, and we investigated the very serious allegations as soon as we were made aware of them.

‘We thank the victims for reporting the incidents to us, and supporting the investigation through to its conclusion, and we are deeply sorry that they endured such a terrible experience.

‘The behaviour shown by Daniel Senda in June 2023 will not be tolerated. We will investigate all allegations of sexual assault in a football environment which are reported to us – usually working with the police, but in this case, the incidents happened overseas so were not within the jurisdiction of UK law-enforcement.

‘We hope that the very lengthy ban serves as a strong deterrent, and a clear signal that women in football will be supported and protected and offenders will be severely punished.’

The panel’s written reasons state that Senda, who had been drinking alcohol, had no recollection of committing the offences when he was interviewed by the FA in July – but did not deny them.

The panel said it initially felt a six-year ban was appropriate, but this was reduced to four years to reflect Senda’s early admission of the charges he faced.