Northern Ireland manager Kenny Shiels has been chastised by Ian Wright for his contentious statements about women’s football.
Women’s football teams, according to Shiels, concede more goals in a short period of time because they are more ’emotional’ than men’s teams.
“I thought they were trying a little bit to open us up at times,” he added, “until the psychology of going two up kicked in.”
“If you look at the tendencies in the women’s game, you’ll notice that when a team concedes a goal, they concede another one in a very short period of time.
“All the way through the women’s game, because girls and women are more emotional than males, they don’t take a goal going in very well.”
His comments came after his team was thrashed 5-0 by England in a 2023 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, with four goals coming in the second half.
His post-match press conference provoked outrage online, with former Arsenal star Wright also criticizing the coach.
‘Kenny Shiels talking folly!’ said the now-football pundit on Twitter. Let’s talk about emotional women! Didn’t that guy notice how many times I cried on the PITCH?’
Shiels’ statements were regarded as “bizarre” by former England Women goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain.
‘However, Chamberlain told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘We all know – and we get it drilled into us as footballers – the five minutes after you concede a goal, the five minutes after you score a goal across the board, not just in women’s football, but in men’s football as well, you’re more likely to concede a goal, and potentially go on to score again.’
That is true not only in the women’s game, but also in the men’s game, and to generalize that to women is a strange comment.
‘You have to take some responsibility for understanding the significance of words, and when you’re doing post-game press conferences and you’re feeling emotional after a great game, it’s vital to make sure you’re speaking sensibly and are conscious of the message that your words might send.’