His words shocked. Following the heavy defeat of the Northern Ireland women’s team on Tuesday evening against England in qualifying for the 2023 World Cup, the Northern Irish coach distinguished himself by sexist statements.
Kenny Shiels’ players stood up to the English for the first 45 minutes before conceding four goals in less than thirty minutes in the second half. And the Northern Ireland coach tried to justify this severe setback by the greater emotionality of the players compared to the men.
“In women’s matches you will have noticed that there are repeating patterns. When a team concedes a goal, it quickly concedes a second,” he said initially to the press. And to add: “This is true at all levels of women’s competitions, because girls and women are more emotional than men, so they react less well when they take a goal.”
Kenny Shiels made controversial comments after his Northern Ireland side lost to England in Women’s World Cup Qualifying, saying goals can be conceded because “women are more emotional than men”. pic.twitter.com/KkFW7uQZvd
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 13, 2022
These statements have sparked many reactions and have been strongly criticized by former England internationals, whether among men, like Ian Wright, or women, like Siobhan Chamberlain. “Talking about emotionality in women! This man did not see how many times I cried on a football pitch,” the former Arsenal striker posted on his Twitter account.
The former goalkeeper of the English “Lionesses” told the BBC that “it’s not just in women’s matches, you also see that in men’s matches and to generalize that to women is a bit weird”. Faced with the controversy generated by his remarks, Kenny Shiels apologized. “I’m sorry if this offended anyone,” he said in a statement released by the Northern Ireland Federation.