Northern Ireland captain Marissa Callahan issues statement on Kenny Shells’ comments

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Northern Ireland women’s captain Marisa Callahan insists the team is behind Kenny Shells after controversial post-match comments following the 5-0 defeat to England on Tuesday.

Chiles was forced to apologize after saying “women are more emotional than men” after losing to the Lions in a World Cup qualifier.

The 65-year-old’s comments were criticized by many fans, as well as former England footballer Ian Wright and TalkSPORT presenter Laura Woods.

Callahan, who played Tuesday’s game, posted a statement on social media saying: “In light of recent events, we are united as our manager.

“We think his interview was about the match we had as a team, in which we analyzed that we conceded goals in sequence and sentiment was one of the many things we discussed.

Since Kenny took over our national team three years ago, I have always publicly praised him for how his players get the most out of them both individually and as a team. He is an honest person who takes care of us as a family.

“Kenny changed the game here in Northern Ireland because he knows how to get the most out of his players.”

“We qualified for the main tournament because it changed the way we think. We are looking forward to the next few months as we continue to prepare for the Euro this summer.”

England opened the scoring with Lauren Hemp in the 26th minute, but Chile kept a goal in the middle until they conceded four goals in the 27th minute of the second half.

Shils said after the match: “I thought sometimes they would struggle to open up until we had the climbing psyche.

In the women’s game you will notice if you follow the patterns, when one team receives a goal, the other concedes in a very short time.

“With the full spectrum of the female game, because girls and women are more emotional than men, so their aim is not good.”

He added, “When we lost 1-0, we tried to slow them down to give them time to overcome this emotional imbalance. That’s the problem we have.”

This is not only in Northern Ireland, but in all countries.

Shells has helped the fate of women’s football in Northern Ireland since becoming first manager in May 2019.

He led the team to the final of Euro 2022, where England will play again this summer.

Tuesday’s match also saw more than 15,000 spectators arrive at Windsor Park, a record crowd for a women’s game in Northern Ireland.

In an apology on Wednesday, Chiles said, “I want to apologize for my comments I made at a post-match press conference last night. I am sorry for the insults they caused.”

“Last night was a special occasion in Northern Ireland at the women’s game and I am proud to lead a team of players who are a role model for so many girls and boys across the country.

“I am an advocate of women’s play and am passionate about developing development opportunities for women and girls.”

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Source: Belfastlive

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