‘Managers in playercoach relationships should be sacked’

Aston Villa Women’s manager Carla Ward has led calls for managers who engage in player-coach relationships to be sacked.

Leicester City manager Willie Kirk is currently suspended pending an investigation following allegations reported in The Guardian that he had been in a relationship with one of the club’s players. He was not on the touchline for last Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup, with the Foxes confirming that he was “assisting the club with an internal process”.

Sheffield United axed Jonathan Morgan last month due to an alleged relationship with a player that dated back to his time at Leicester.

Asked if the matter should be a sackable offence, Ward (below) responded: “Yep. Our job and our duty is to protect players, first and foremost. So, to cross that line is unacceptable and it can’t happen.

“It makes me very angry because we’re here to set an environment, a comfortable place that people come to work in, where they feel safe, where they feel backed, where they feel looked after. I just don’t understand anyone who crosses that line. The game is professionalised.

“Essentially, if you’re the manager and you’re crossing that line it’s very difficult for anyone to report it... We’re in a moment right now where there’s a microscope on the women’s game. I think people have taken advantage of certain positions. I don’t like that, I don’t think it’s right.” Chelsea coach Emma Hayes also considers “player-to-player relationships inappropriate”, despite the number of such cases in women’s football, including at her club. Tottenham Hotspur manager Robert Vilahamn added that as a coach in a “power position” it was “totally not acceptable” and “very unprofessional” to enter into a relationship with a player. Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall described it as a “clear no” and pointed to 2021 reports surrounding sexual misconduct in the USA’s National Women’s Soccer League, insisting “there are major issues within the game”. Bristol City coach Lauren Smith echoed Ward in saying it should be “a sackable offence”. “Is it a problem within the women’s game?” Smith asked. “The fact we’re having the conversation shows it is an issue, something that needs to be looked at, dealt with sooner rather than later.”