Taipei: The Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) on Wednesday announced the revocation of the coaching license of Chou Tai-ying, a suspended women’s soccer coach at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), due to her involvement in a bullying case.

According to Focus Taiwan, the decision was made by a disciplinary committee that found Chou had bullied student athletes by coercing them into providing blood samples for research projects. She allegedly threatened students with the loss of course credits required for graduation and isolated individual athletes. The committee determined that Chou abused the power dynamic between a coach and her athletes, resulting in significant physical and psychological harm. Consequently, the CTFA has barred her from participating in football-related affairs for life.

The association stated that the committee based its decisions on evidence and investigation reports attached to a notice from the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration on July 17. Chou, who has been a long-term coach of NTNU’s women’s soccer team, faced accusations of forcing student athletes to partake in research projects requiring blood samples from 2019 to 2024.

A press conference on July 19 featured NTNU President Wu Cheng-chih, research project leader Chen Chung-ching, and Chou herself, all of whom apologized to the students and the public over the incident. Chou, a former national team player, led Taiwan to three consecutive Asian Cup titles in 1977, 1979, and 1981 and has been teaching at NTNU since 2004.