Northern Ireland captain Marissa Callaghan has released a statement saying their squad “collectively stand" by manager Kenny Shiels after his recent comments about women footballers.
Following his side’s 5-0 loss to England on Tuesday, Shiels - who is a famously emotional mananger - said he believed the reason Northern Ireland conceded goals in quick succession was because “women are more emotional then men”.
Kenny Shiels comments
🗣 “Girls and women are more emotional than men.”
Northern Ireland Women’s manager Kenny Shiels has made an outlandish claim that women are more likely to concede goals in quick succession than men because they’re more emotional. 💭 pic.twitter.com/3aOhiUhOnx— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 13, 2022
To be exact, he said:
“In the women’s game you’ll have noticed if you go through the patterns, when a team concedes a goal they concede a second one within a very short space of time.
Right through the whole spectrum of the women’s game, because girls and women are more emotional than men, so they take a goal going in not very well.”
Shiels's comments received incredible amounts of criticism, with TalkSport host Laura Woods claiming the difference in quality between the two sides was the reason for the quick succession of goals.
“What I do think it might have something to do with, is that England are ranked eight in the world and Northern Ireland are 46th, so I’m just going to say that’s got something to do with your team getting pumped by the Lionesses, perhaps?”
Many had wondered how the Northern Ireland team would respond to the comments and if Shiels' position was still tenable after the controversy.
However this morning, Callaghan released a statement this morning on behalf of the team showing their support for their manager.
The midfielder provided some context for the comments, saying they came after meeting between Shiels and the squad which highlighted conceding goals in quick succession.
— Marissa Callaghan (@marissac_17) April 14, 2022
"We feel his interview was in relation to a meeting we had as a team where we analysed that we concede goals in quick succession, and emotions was one of the many things we discussed"
"Since Kenny took over our national team three years ago, I have always complimented him publicly on how he can get the best out of his players individually and collectively. He is a man of integrity who cares for us like we are family."
Kenny has transformed the game here in Northern Ireland because he understands how to get the best out of his players.
"We have qualified for a major tournament because he transformed our mindset. We look forward to the next few months as we continue to prepare for the Euros this summer."
This would appear to put the matter to bed and Northern Ireland can now concentrate on this summer's European championships.
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