Toni Minichiello: Sheffield athletics coach who trained Jessica Ennis-Hill banned for life from UK Athletics

Toni Minichiello, a Sheffield-born athletics coach known as the man behind the successful sporting career of British athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, will not be allowed to coach ever again.

A decision that was revealed by governing body UK Athletics on Tuesday, 9 August 2022.

This came after a number of allegations and complaints against the 56-year-old trainer from his peers, leading to an investigation into whether Mr Minichiello had breached his coaching licence.

Here is everything you need to know about the investigation, as well as the verdict issued by the UKA and reaction from Toni Minichiello.

Who is Toni Minichiello?

Antonio Minichiello - also known as Toni - is renowned for being a successful athletics coach, as well as a stint as a commentator.

Born in Sheffield to Italian parents from Avellino near Naples, Toni is best known for being the coach of British athletics champion Jessica Ennis-Hill - he coached the athlete from 13 years old until retirement.

The pair first met at the Don Valley Athletics Stadium, located on Workshop Road in Sheffield, when the Heptathlon winner was at a summer holiday camp as a teenager.

Antonio Minichiello famously guided Ms Ennis-Hill to a number of triumphs, including a gold medal at the London Olympic Games in 2012.

As a result of this huge honour, Toni won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award in the same year, as well as Coach of the Year at the UK Coaching Awards.

What has happened?

On Tuesday, 9 August 2022, UK Athletics (UKA) - which is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom - decided that Antonio Minichiello has been banned for life.

Officials have cited “sexual misconduct”, as well as “inapporpriate and sometimes aggressive behaviour, bullying and emotional abuse” over a 15-year-period as the aggrevating factor behind the decision.

The governing body suspended the athletics coach last year following an investigation into complaints filed by multiple female athletes and coaches.

UKA had used their findings to conclude that Toni Minichiello showed gross breaches of trust leading to severe consequences for the mental health and wellbeing of some of the athletes in his care.

The Independent Case Management Group found that the 56-year-old trainer was in breach of his coaching licence due to the following reasons:

• Making inappropriate sexual references and gestures to athletes, including mimicking “female genitalia and oral sex”, telling an athlete to “suck my ****” and frequently referring to his penis as his “spicy Italian sausage”
• Engaging in inappropriate and sometimes aggressive behaviour, bullying and emotional abuse including one athlete being made to sit with a cone on her head to mimic a dunce’s cap
• Failing to respect the athletes’ right to a private life by making intrusive inquiries and comments about their personal lives, including asking an athlete if she had “ever had sex while doing weights”
• Engaging in sexually physical behaviour, namely inappropriate and unwanted touching of athletes to whom he owed a duty of care, including touching two athletes’ breasts and “dry humping” to mimic sexual activity

UKA have come to the conclusion that any other allegations made against Mr Minichiello were therefore unproven.

Toni Minichiello has denied all allegations and any wrongdoing.

How has Toni Minichiello been punished?

Officials at the UKA have concluded that Toni Minichiello will be banned for life from training athletes.

Due to the fact that Mr Minichiello’s coaching licence had expired during the disciplinary process, he cannot be suspended or subjected to a sanction.

Despite this, the governing body have confirmed that they will never entertain any future application made by the 56-year-old.

What has Toni Minichiello said?

Following the verdict that he will never coach in UK athletics again, Toni Minichiello issued the following statement: “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.

“It is very important that UK Athletics respond quickly and seriously to serious allegations of misconduct, especially when those allegations are made by young people,” he continued.

“However, those investigations and tribunals need to be conducted carefully, with due process and fairly.

“I do not believe that I have been treated fairly in this instance.”

What have UK Athletics said?

A spokesperson for the UK sport governing body came out with an official statement after making the decision to ban Mr Minichiello, stating: “[The findings] amount to a large number of breaches of the UKA coach licence terms over a 15-year period.”

“They constitute gross breaches of trust by Mr Minichiello, which have had severe consequences for the mental health and mental wellbeing of the athletes under his charge.”

“It is noted that during the process of these disciplinary matters, Mr Minichiello’s coaching licence expired and therefore cannot be suspended/subject to a sanction. Therefore, UKA has decided that it will not entertain any future application made by Mr Minichiello for a UKA coach licence in perpetuity.

“The issuance of a UKA licence to a coach is essentially a representation on behalf of UKA that the coach in question can be trusted with the athletes under his charge. UKA is firmly of the view that there will never be a time in the future at which it would be appropriate to grant that assurance and issue such a licence.”