Upon the full-time whistle, with tempers high, Hayes appeared to shove Eidevall away as they went for a post-match handshake before the Chelsea boss pointed her fingers at Eidevall as she walked away. The disagreement, which had seemingly stemmed from a contested throw-in, forced Hayes to disagree with the Arsenal boss' ‘male aggression’.
“There’s a way to conduct yourself on the touchline. I’m not up for male aggression from the touchline and fronting up to players. He got a yellow card and probably should have been sent off. I’m all for competing to win, I’ve never been booked in 12 years. I totally accept he’s a winner, but his behaviour wasn’t acceptable.”
Hayes Unhappy with Eidevall Clashing with Erin Cuthbert
The all-intense clash between two of London’s heavyweights looked destined to be decided by penalties until Arsenal enjoyed their breakthrough moment in the 116th minute. Stina Blackstenius latched onto Caitlin Foord’s cross to score the only goal of the game which, in turn, saw them come out with the victory, but – as alluded to – tempers flared at the full-time whistle.
Arsenal Women celebrating Conti Cup final
While the cause of the heated exchange was unknown at the time, Hayes c
laimed that Eidevall’s behaviour towards Chelsea duo Ann-Katrin Berger and Erin Cuthbert was the root of the problem, with her describing his behaviour as unnacceptable.
“Yeah, there were a couple. One with Ann (Katrin Berger) coming to get the ball. The way he fronted up to Erin (Cuthbert), I didn’t think was acceptable.”
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Emma Hayes has enjoyed a 77.42% win percentage this season, having amassed 2.45 points per game.
Eidevall, however, has defended himself against accusations of aggression, explaining that the on-field row was caused by Chelsea looking to use the multi-ball system when they were chasing a goal late on in the final, as reported by Sky Sports.
"My word on what was happening would be that before the game we had a discussion between the clubs about whether to use one ball or multi-ball system. Arsenal said multi-ball, Chelsea said one ball. The decision was to play the final on a one-ball system.”
He added: "Obviously it drives all kinds of emotions in there, nothing more, nothing less. I can't see that I did anything, had any form of contact with anyone - either a player or a coach. That was it. To be honest I can't really take it seriously [being called an 'aggressor']."
And despite coming out triumphant, the 41-year-old was clearly unhappy with the nature of Chelsea’s behaviour in the latter stages of the Conti Cup fixture – but this was not the first time that the two legends of the game had clashed.
Chelsea Women's boss, Emma Hayes
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Chelsea manager Emma Hayes
Eidevall and Hayes first went head-to-head in the WSL back in September 2021 and Arsenal managed to reign victorious in a 3-2 win at the Emirates. The then-new Gunners boss fell to his knees, arms aloft, in delight.
Ahead of their final Women’s Super League (WSL) meeting at Stamford Bridge earlier in the campaign, Hayes claimed that she is going to miss the feuds between her and Eidevall after she revealed she would be leaving her position at the capital club at the end of the campaign.
"What I am going to miss is the competition.”
Since joining the north Londoners, Eidevall has faced up against his Chelsea counterpart on 11 different occasions, coming out as a winner four times. The pair have drawn twice, while Hayes' side have won five times. The Chelsea custodian may have been superior in their meetings, but both are worthy of being considered legends among WSL circles.
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