Sarina Wiegman has described relationships between female footballers and their coaches as unhealthy, inappropriate and unsafe.
The England manager was reacting to events at the WSL club Leicester, where the head coach, Willie Kirk, is the subject of an internal investigation after an allegation of a relationship with a player.
“I think player-coach relationships are very inappropriate,” Wiegman said. “We should not accept that and it’s not healthy. Our environment is a professional one, it’s all about performing and it should always be safe. Things can happen but it’s inappropriate and we all should be very aware of that.”
A number of WSL managers have spoken out on the issue, with coach-player relationships described by Aston Villa’s Carla Ward as “unacceptable” and by Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall as “very inappropriate”. Wiegman was asked whether the Football Association or NewCo, which will take over the running of England’s top two divisions from next season, should ban such relationships.
She said: “I think it is common sense … but when it happens too often you need regulations. I’ll leave that up to others.”
Wiegman’s demeanour brightened as she discussed Leah Williamson’s return to her squad for the Euro 2025 qualifiers against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
England’s captain and key central defender has not played for her country since sustaining an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury last spring. After nine months on the sidelines Williamson returned to action for Arsenal in January but withdrew from the England squad named for last month’s friendlies against Austria and Italy with a minor hamstring injury.
“I’m looking forward to working with her again,” said Wiegman, whose side face Sweden at Wembley on Friday 5 April and Ireland in Dublin the following Tuesday. “She recovered really well and she’s getting into a rhythm. Of course she hasn’t played many games yet but she’s getting there. I’m very happy. The squad looks good.”
Even so, Wiegman would prefer it if England’s Arsenal players – Williamson, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy – were not facing a whirlwind trip to Australia to face an A-League all stars team in an exhibition match on 24 May, less than a week after the WSL season’s conclusion and only seven days before the start of back-to-back internationals against France. “I think with the calendar and the congested schedules there’s a lot of challenges for the players and for us,” she said. “I was surprised about that trip.
Goalkeepers Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City)
Defenders Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Millie Turner (Manchester United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfielders Grace Clinton (Tottenham Hotspur, on loan from Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona)
Forwards Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal)
“I think, with the already complicated schedule, it’s not good for them to go to the other side of the world. It’s very short term so there’s no time to adapt. They play a game and then their England players come back to play two games for us against France. It will be hard for them to perform at the highest level.”
Given that the Lionesses need to finish in the top two of their Euro 2025 qualifying group to progress directly to next year’s tournament in Switzerland and avoid the playoffs, Wiegman could certainly do without Arsenal’s Australian jaunt.
She would also, ideally, have liked to pair Williamson with Millie Bright in central defence next week but the 30-year-old remains sidelined by the knee injury which has kept her out for several months.
“I’m a little disappointed,” Wiegman said. “We all hoped she would recover a little quicker but she’s taking her time to do the right things to get back and not get setbacks again. She needs a little more work in the gym to get everything strong.”
Although the Manchester United centre-back Millie Turner retains her place, her clubmate and fellow defender Maya Le Tissier has, contentiously, been dropped from the 23-strong group. “I’ve spoken to her,” said Wiegman. “We’ve talked about the defensive line.”
United’s leading scorer, the 71-cap Nikita Parris has again failed to do quite enough to persuade England’s manager to reignite her once flourishing international career. Parris has scored 16 goals in 23 games this season and maintains she is not about to abandon hope of a recall.
Wiegman was happier to talk about the Manchester City midfielder Jess Park, who retains her place after scoring twice against United in a 3-1 win last Saturday. “She plays with a lot of joy and freedom. The competition for that position is really high, which is good for the team.”
