San Diego Wave’s new head coach Jonas Eidevall says he has “no relationship” with his United States Women counterpart Emma Hayes following their clash in England last year.

After Eidevall’s Arsenal had beaten Hayes’ Chelsea in March’s Conti Cup final, the Englishwoman gave the Swede a small push when he went to shake her hand. Hayes then spoke about the “male aggression” she believed Eidevall displayed during the match. Eidevall said he did not think he had been aggressive and said Hayes had been “irresponsible” in labelling it as such.

Hayes left Chelsea to take over the USWNT at the end of the 2023-24 season, while Eidevall departed Arsenal by mutual consent in October after an indifferent start to the new campaign.

Earlier on Tuesday, Eidevall was appointed as the Wave’s new head coach with the 41-year-old signing a three-year contract with the NWSL side.

Speaking to Swedish outlet Aftonbladet, Eidevall said the pair had previously had a “good relationship” but now do not have one at all.

“The reaction after the match when she gives me a little push, that was a non-event for me,” Eidevall added. “I can live with that. I understand those who say that if it had been the other way around, what would have happened to me then? But that is so far from my reality, I would never have done that. So I put that aside.

“However, the comments after the match, when the adrenaline had subsided, I was very disappointed. Very disappointed. And I am also very disappointed that she was not able to send a message or make a call and say that it went wrong.

“I think there’s something to it that I’m the only one who has won many games against Chelsea. I don’t think any other coach has done that, so maybe that’s why. Then football is a lot of emotions, and I understand that it was a game with emotions from all sides.”

Eidevall also claimed that, while he was still Arsenal’s head coach, Hayes was the only national team boss to not directly reach out regarding a player. USWNT defender Emily Fox plays for Arsenal but Eidevall asserted that it had been “an assistant or someone else”.

Eidevall will soon begin pre-season with the Wave, who play two friendlies next month ahead of the 2025 NWSL season.

Hayes, meanwhile, has named a 26-player squad for this month’s camp which features only domestic-based players and will not play any matches. Two Wave players, Naomi Girma and Jaeydn Shaw, were among those selected.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

US Women's national team, Arsenal, San Diego Wave, NWSL, UK Women's Football

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