The drama hit boiling point at the final whistle when Hayes seemed to shove her managerial rival and gave him a piece of her mind. Earlier sparks flew as Eidevall got into a tiff with Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert, who wanted to use a different football when both teams had agreed to only play with one ball before the match.
Eidevall hit back, branding her remarks “irresponsible”, but the FA didn’t slap Hayes with any sanctions. Fast forward two weeks, and Hayes, set for a Stateside switch in the summer, served up a peculiar metaphor to the media mob quizzing her on the bust-up.
“My son said to me after the game: Mummy, when you push someone in school, you’re asked to go and take time out,” she shared on Friday. “And I told him, you know what darling, you can’t meet aggression with aggression.
All you can do is tell the teacher, explain to them why you think something is unfair, even if the players go to the teacher, the parents go to the teacher, you cannot meet aggression with aggression. When questioned if she would alter anything that was spoken on the day, Hayes responded: “So at times the mob is swayed to carry praise or blame too far, we may choose somewhere like a star, to stay our minds on and be staid.”
On the other hand, Eidevall informed the press that he believed the comments were still “irresponsible” and he wasn’t shocked that Hayes received no penalty for her actions. When asked about her thoughts on the comments, Hayes simply stated “I have no opinion.”
Some reactions from fans included one saying, “What fresh hell is this, she’s gone full Cantona.” Another person commented, “Emma Hayes channelling her inner Eric Cantona.”
The incident has sparked significant attention and debate within the football community.
