After making the right soccer analysis and predictions for the recent match between Northern Ireland and England on Tuesday, fans of the latter were very happy. However, football supporters on both sides were quickly enraged when Kenny Shiels, the manager of the Northern Ireland team, made comments saying that “women are more emotional than men”.
The comments were made after the match, and after all his hopes of qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup were shattered. He was interviewed and made the bad comments, but quickly realized what he has said and tried coming out with an apology later.
Shiels’s Comments
Kenny Shiels ended up making some bad comments after his side lost during the Tuesday match. In the interview, he mentioned how girls and women are more emotional, which in his vision affects their performance.
“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 period,” he said. “Right through the whole spectrum of the women’s game, because women and girls are more emotional so they take a goal going in not very well.”
“When we went 1-0 down we tried to slow it down to give them time to get that emotional imbalance out of their heads. That’s an issue we have. Not just in Northern Ireland but in all of the countries in the world. I shouldn’t have told you that.”
The last mart of his statement was his realization that what he said was inaccurate and inappropriate, but may have also been because he realized he told this to journalists, therefore the information will quickly become public, leading to a backlash.
The Apology
Following his comments, Kenny Shiels has apologized. He made a statement on Wednesday. The brief statement was released by the Irish Football Association.
“I wish to apologize for my comments made in the post-match press conference last night,” Shiels said. “I am sorry for the offense that they have caused. Last night was a special occasion for the women’s game in Northern Ireland and I am proud to manage a group of players who are role models for so many girls, and boys, across the country. I am an advocate for the women’s game and passionate about developing opportunities for women and girls to flourish.”
Many people started criticizing the remarks Shiels made. Even Ian Wright went to Twitter to speak against the comments. He posted images of himself on the pitch crying while saying that “Kenny Shiels talking foolishness! Talking about emotional women! Didn’t that man see how many times I was crying on the PITCH!”
Many women were also disappointed in Shiels and pointed out how in this day and age, it is shocking to hear a man talking about women being too emotional.
Despite the apology having been made, many will still be angry at Shiels, and his comments will not be forgotten. We can only hope that the Northern Ireland team will not be affected by this situation.
