Emma Hayes: ‘It wasn’t right’ to call player-to-player relationships ‘inappropriate’

The Chelsea manager clarified her comments after facing criticism on social media

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes (Getty Images)

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says she “didn’t think it was right to use the term inappropriate” when describing player-to-player relationships within the same squad, adding that her comments this week had been “blown up in an unnecessary way”.

On Thursday, Hayes said player-to-player relationships within the same dressing room can lead to challenges to managers. Hayes made the comments while responding to questions surrounding the topic of coach-to-player relationships, which has come into focus this week after Leicester manager Willie Kirk was suspended by the club amid allegations of a relationship with a player in the Leicester team.

During her answer, Hayes said: "Player-coach relationships - they’re inappropriate, player-to-player relationships are inappropriate."

The Chelsea squad contains players who are in relationships with each other, including Jess Carter. The England and Chelsea defender is in a relationship with goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Following Hayes’s comments, Carter appeared to like several posts on Twitter/X that criticised what Hayes said.

Hayes said she had spoken to Carter before Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Arsenal on Friday. Hayes said Carter was “outstanding” after starting in the heart of her defence and the Chelsea manager then took the opportunity to address her comments from Thursday.

“I don’t want to create any more clickbait headlines. I think that sometimes that becomes the case when we have honest conversations about things,” she said. “Of course I am disappointed about that. Of course Jess and I have had a conversation today, as I have with other players in the team. They know exactly who I am and they know exactly what my intentions were.

“But I have to expect that I am supposed to be the most well-trained, non-clickbait headline coach, and I’ve let myself down yesterday. I didn’t think it was right to use the term inappropriate for the players.

“Nonetheless, I think when we have honest conversations about these things, I don’t take those things back. But I have zero criticism of any player in my dressing room for anything, their professionalism, for what they have given to their club, regardless of their status or who they are in a relationship with. I’ve been unbelievably supportive of all of the players. I have been a champion for equality and equity.

“I think sadly this has become a topic that has been blown up in an unnecessary way. But I can’t control social media, nor do I wish to. I do want to say I have an unbelievable dressing room and you saw tonight in the performance from everybody that they were extremely focussed on things that matter, as I keep saying to our players all the time. Even if we have disagreements in life we must not play them out publicly. We must have conversations with each other because it’s an important thing you must do in a workplace.

“I think you saw from the performance tonight that everybody is absolutely invested in what we are doing. Tremendous performance from everyone, including Jess.”