A sideline dispute during the English Women's League Cup final on Sunday escalated into a postmatch shove from Chelsea manager and incoming U.S. women's national team coach Emma Hayes.
Hayes said she reacted to "male aggression" displayed by Arsenal 's Jonas Eidevall during an exchange he had with Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert before a throw-in during extra time.
After the game, Eidevall said the dispute centered on a pregame decision to use only one ball during the match instead of multiple balls.
Teams can choose to use one or multiple balls prior to a game. If they can't agree, one ball is used. During the game's final minutes, Chelsea attempted to grab a new ball for a quick throw-in after the game ball was kicked away, prompting Eidevall's reaction toward the player. Chelsea ultimately lost 1-0.
"I've been in women's football a long time and I don't think we should tolerate male aggression like we did today," Hayes said afterward. "He (Eidevall) received a yellow card but perhaps should have been more.
"Fronting up or squaring up to a player is something that's unacceptable. I've never been booked in 12 years of my career."
Hayes, who will assume USWNT duties once the Arsenal season ends, emphasized her displeasure in the postgame handshake line by giving Eidevall a visible shove.
Eidevall denied his behavior was overly aggressive.
"The ball goes out of play, the Chelsea player wants a new ball to take a quick throw-in and I said, 'We play with only one ball and you guys were the ones who decided that,'" he told the BBC.
"I don't think I was aggressive," he told reporters in his postmatch press conference. "I think that is irresponsible to label it as that."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chelsea's Emma Hayes shoves Arsenal manager in postmatch spat
