BERLIN (AP) — After naming Marie-Louise Eta the first female head coach in Europe's “big five” soccer leagues, Union Berlin says the club “has her back” as it condemns sexist comments on social media.
Eta's first Bundesliga game is Saturday against Wolfsburg. There have already been critical comments on social media suggesting that she's not suitable for the job because she's a woman.
“With all due respect, that's sexism,” Union's account on X responded to a post arguing that players wouldn't take a woman's instructions about tactics seriously. Eta is a longtime member of the club's coaching staff who has been assistant to the men's team and head coach of the under-19 team.
It branded another comment “sexist” for claiming that a male coach who lost to her would lose face.
Responding to a comment expressing concern about the treatment of Eta and a potential sexist backlash if she loses a game, the club posted: “The Union family has her back.”
Eta has been named interim coach for the last five games of the season as Union aims to secure its spot in the Bundesliga for next season. Union previously said she will take over as head coach of the club's women's team for next season.
The decision to appoint Eta won praise from Berlin's mayor Kai Wegner, who called the decision “a strong signal for professional soccer and for women in elite-level sports,” but spelled Eta's name wrong in the process. The club corrected him. “We were so overwhelmed,” Wegner answered.
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FILE - Union Berlin's co-coach Marie-Louise Eta leads a soccer training session on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Matthias Koch/dpa via AP, File)
FILE - Union Berlin's assistant coach Marie-Louise Eta looks oon before the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and FC Augsburg in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP, File)
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Leo XIV pushed back Monday against President Donald Trump’s broadside against him over the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, saying the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
History’s first U.S.-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace and criticisms of the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the Iran wars and other conflicts around the world.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, saying he didn't think the U.S.-born global leader of the Catholic Church is “doing a very good job” and that “he's a very liberal person," while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”
Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticize Leo, then kept it up after deplaning, in comments on the tarmac to reporters.
“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he said.
Trump's comments came after Leo suggested over the weekend that a “delusion of omnipotence” is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. While it’s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross purposes, it’s exceedingly rare for the pope to directly criticize a U.S. leader — and Trump’s stinging response is equally uncommon, if not more so.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his post, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."
He repeated that sentiment in comments to reporters, saying, “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”
Later, Trump posted a picture suggesting he had saint-like powers akin to those of Jesus Christ. Wearing a biblical-style robe, Trump is seen laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanates from his fingers, while a soldier, a nurse, a praying woman and a bearded man in a baseball cap all look on admiringly. The sky above is filled with eagles, an American flag and vaporous images.
All of that came after Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan during a fragile ceasefire. The pope didn’t mention the United States or Trump by name, but his tone and message appeared directed at Trump and U.S. officials, who have boasted of U.S. military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.
Leo — who is scheduled to leave Monday for an 11-day trip to Africa — has previously said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” He's also referenced an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, saying that “even though you make many prayers, I will not listen — your hands are full of blood.”
Before the ceasefire, when Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and other infrastructure and that “an entire civilization will die tonight,” Leo described such sentiments as “truly unacceptable.”
In his social media post on Sunday night, however, Trump went far beyond the war in Iran in criticizing Leo.
The president wrote, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States.” That was a reference to the Trump administration having ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” Trump added, referencing his 2024 election victory.
He also suggested in the post that Leo only got his position “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump wrote, adding, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”
In his subsequent comments to reporters, Trump remained highly critical, saying of Leo, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess” and adding, “He’s a very liberal person.”
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement saying he was “disheartened” by Trump's comments.
“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls,” Coakley said.
In the 2024 election, Trump won 55% of Catholic voters, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. But Trump's administration also has close ties to conservative evangelical Protestant leaders and has claimed heavenly endorsement for the war on Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Americans to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ.” And, when Trump was asked whether he thought God approved of the war, he said, “I do, because God is good — because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.”
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, April 12, 2026, after he returned from Miami. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Pope Leo XIV delivers the Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, April 12, 2026, after he returned from Miami. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
