Chelsea women’s boss Emma Hayes has come under fire after shoving Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall at the end of the Conti Cup final.
Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final of the competition for the second successive season, thanks to Stina Blackstenius’ extra time goal.
When the two managers went to shake hands at full-time, Hayes shoved Eidevall away and looked to be furious with the Arsenal boss and his backroom staff.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Eidevall explained a dispute over the use of a multi ball system was the cause of the dispute between the two managers.
“It’s just we had a discussion before the game where both clubs have to agree to play with a multi-ball system or not,” Eideval said.
“Chelsea said they only wanted to play with one ball and we said we wanted to play with multi-ball.
“Then when it suits them in the last minute of the game when they want to take another ball to take a quick throw-in, then all of sudden they want to use that.
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“I only said: ‘You guys wanted to play with one ball,’ so it’s not my problem. But it’s all good I think, it was just the heat of the moment.”
But Hayes’ reaction has been criticized by fans on social media for her behavior after the full time whistle at Molineux Stadium.
One fan tweeted: “Appalling from Emma Hayes, such poor sportsmanship,” while another added: “That push, such an unprofessional reaction from Emma Hayes.”
Arsenal’s win ended Chelsea’s hopes of winning a quadruple in Hayes’ last season in charge of the club. The Blues are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League and are locked in a title race with Man City in the Women’s Super League.
Hayes will leave her role at Chelsea at the end of the season to take charge of the US women’s national team.