Dutch-born Ireland women's coach Vera Pauw revealed on Friday that she was raped as a young woman "by a prominent football official" and exposed to a raft of abuse within Dutch national football.

Pauw's revelation drew an apology from the Royal Dutch Football Federation (KNVB), saying "it was unacceptable that she did not experience a safe working environment."

59-year-old Pauw, widely seen as one of the founders of the women's game in the Netherlands, made the shocking revelation in a statement on social media.

"For 35 years I kept a secret from the world, from my family, from my team-mates, my players and I can now accept, from myself," she posted on Twitter.

"Even those closest to me have not known of the rape I endured at the hands of a prominent football official when I was a young player," she mentioned.

The football coach also revealed that "later, two sexual assaults by two other men were added to this record. All three men were employed within Dutch football at the time of the incident."

This has been the toughest thing in my life but, finally, I'm ready to move on and be proud of who I am

Vera 💚 pic.twitter.com/27v25nFViP

— Vera Pauw (@verapauw) July 1, 2022

Pauw pointed out that "for a past number of years I have tried to have my case heard in a fair and just manner by the football authorities in the Netherlands but to no avail."

"Some people would rather keep my rape and sexual assaults quiet than offer me the support I need by opening this story to the world," she said, adding that "I can no longer share the silence."

The Dutch coach mentioned that she has reported the rape and sexual assaults to the Dutch police.

Reacting to Pauw's allegations, the KNVB said it was "very shocked about the not-recent experiences Vera told us about in a discussion last year."

The federation had launched an investigation by an independent research agency suggested by Pauw.

The probe found a number of errors in the way the KNVB dealt with Pauw's experiences, including "not being sufficiently alert to Vera's first signals of sexually transgressive behavior in 2011."

"We acknowledge the errors identified in the report and it should not have happened to her," the probe said.

"It is unacceptable that Vera did not experience the safe working environment to which she was entitled at the time," the KNVB affirmed.