Northern Ireland coach apologizes for emotional talk about players

Northern Ireland women's soccer coach Kenny Shils has apologized today after criticism that he said female soccer players concede too many goals in a matter of minutes because they are "more emotional than the players".

Chiles said these comments after his team conceded five goals within 27 minutes in the second half during the 5-0 loss against England in Belfast in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers.

He said after the match that in women's football, "if you've noticed over the years, when a team concedes a goal, they receive the second in a short period of time."

"And this happens in women's sports, because girls and women are more emotional than men, so they don't deal well with receiving a goal."

This led to criticism from former England internationals Ian Wright and goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain.

Chiles apologized Wednesday for his comments in a statement posted on the Northern Irish Football Association's website.

"I would like to apologize for the comments I made at the press conference after the match last night. I am sorry for the offense I caused," the 65-year-old said.

"I am an advocate for women's sport and passionate about developing opportunities for women and girls to thrive."

Wright, the former Arsenal and England striker, had tweeted, "Talking about women being emotional! That guy hasn't seen how many times I've cried on the pitch!"

While Chamberlain considered in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation "BBC" that "this does not happen only in women's sports, but also in men, and generalizing this idea to women is a bit strange."

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