Chelsea Women's manager and incoming USWNT boss Emma Hayes sparked controversy with her comments on player-to-player and player-coach relationships, calling them 'inappropriate.' The remarks came amid discussions on the professionalization of women's football and were echoed by other WSL managers. Following backlash, including from Chelsea star Jess Carter, who is in a relationship with teammate Ann-Katrin Berger and liked tweets criticizing Hayes, the coach expressed regret for her choice of words. Hayes clarified that she had 'zero criticism' of her players' professionalism and admitted to letting herself down by using the term 'inappropriate.'
Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes has said she let herself down with comments on relationships between players and was wrong to use the term “inappropriate” https://t.co/MEL3KIwYc8
Emma Hayes causes outrage after calling player-player relationships 'inappropriate' https://t.co/x2XxYNvFlg
Emma Hayes causes outrage after she calling player-player relationships 'inappropriate' https://t.co/x2XxYNwdaO
Emma Hayes says she let herself down with comments about relationships between players. #BBCFootball
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says she “let herself down” when describing player relationships in the women’s game as “inappropriate”. More from @charlotteharpur ⬇️ https://t.co/3M5VERjJkc
Asked about the need to safeguard players, Chelsea coach Emma Hayes told reporters: 'Player-coach relationships - they're inappropriate, player-to-player relationships are inappropriate' https://t.co/N4QFdcbknu https://t.co/wFhZKVZO34
Hayes: I have to expect that I’m supposed to be the most well-trained, non-clickbait headline coach and I let myself down yesterday. I didn’t think it was right for me to use the term inappropriate for the players. Full quotes below: @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/4Qy7jscn2T
Hayes: "I didn’t think it was right for me to use the term inappropriate. I have zero critcism of any player in my dressing room for anything. Their professionalism for what they’ve given to the club, regardless of their status, regardless of who they’re in a relationship with"
From @TheAthleticFC: Should relationships between players and coaches ever be acceptable? Most, but not all, Women's Super League managers were definitive that the dynamic must always be strictly professional. https://t.co/b7TnCx558E
Player-to-player relationships within the same squad are inappropriate and can lead to significant challenges for managers, Chelsea coach Emma Hayes said https://t.co/N4QFdcbknu https://t.co/oVyJxJVqXw
😯Chelsea Women's star likes multiple tweets slamming Emma Hayes over ‘bonkers’ player-to-player relationship comments https://t.co/eGyppYDLuw
Jess Carter likes tweet criticising Emma Hayes' views on player relationships https://t.co/x2XxYNvFlg
All 12 WSL managers were asked about player-manager relationships. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes also brought up the challenges presented by player-to-player relationships. You can read their responses below: @TheAthleticFC @jessyjph @ArtdeRoche https://t.co/JEM0tbzA5E
Emma Hayes, the incoming coach of the U.S. women's national team, said player-to-player and player-coach relationships on teams are “inappropriate.” https://t.co/k8yu63cwnO
Jess Carter likes tweet calling manager Emma Hayes’ comments ‘beyond bonkers’ https://t.co/x2XxYNvFlg
Chelsea Women storm as Jess Carter likes tweet calling Emma Hayes ‘bonkers’ for criticising relationship with team-mate https://t.co/Ju0KOmoFaR https://t.co/Ju0KOmoFaR
Intrasquad relationships are ‘inappropriate’ says incoming USWNT boss Emma Hayes https://t.co/8LMuLODyvL
Chelsea star Jess Carter, who is dating teammate Ann-Katrin Berger, likes a series of tweets criticising manager Emma Hayes of her comments about relationships within clubs. https://t.co/jHuJyuZO7S
Relationships between team-mates are often celebrated in the women's game but Emma Hayes believes that they are “inappropriate” despite their widespread presence Read more 🔽 https://t.co/Agi0B7b3cx
Player relationships in same team are 'inappropriate', says Chelsea boss Hayes https://t.co/B2X8cFc9q1 https://t.co/5pQoip8Qph
WSL managers say player-coach relationships in women's football are 'unacceptable' https://t.co/Qtm1fRwZac
Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes believes player-coach and player to player relationships are “inappropriate”. "One of the important things to talk about is the women's game is shifting from an amateur into a pro game." @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/IIfVoKEpKQ
“Player to coach relationships are inappropriate, player to player relationships are inappropriate” Emma Hayes in her press conference just now. I expect the second part of that quote might raise a few eyebrows considering how many player relationships we see in the WSL.