The leadership of Leicester City Football Club, known as the “Foxes,” has announced the termination of the contract with women’s team coach Willie Kirk following allegations that the strategist had engaged in a romantic relationship with a player on the team. On March 29th, Leicester City issued a statement regarding Kirk’s dismissal following an internal investigation. “Coach Willie Kirk has been found to have violated the team’s code of conduct, to a degree serious enough to warrant a reassessment of his position within the club,” stated the Leicester City official website.
The Guardian revealed that Kirk was suspended from his duties earlier this month after reports surfaced regarding his alleged romantic involvement with a female player on the Leicester team. Since then, the “Foxes” have experienced consecutive defeats in the FA Women’s Super League.
Coach Kirk joined Leicester as the Director of Football in July 2022, subsequently taking over the reins of the women’s team later that year. He successfully assisted the club in avoiding relegation in the previous season.
The scandal within the Leicester women’s team occurred just a month after the former coach of the team, Jonathan Morgan, was similarly accused. Morgan was dismissed when Sheffield United’s women’s team discovered his romantic involvement with a player during his tenure at Leicester (2014-2021).
Morgan later admitted to the incident in an interview with The Athletic. The player’s mother revealed that her daughter was only 17 years old when the relationship with Coach Morgan began, alleging that the coach took advantage of her daughter’s lack of understanding.
In contrast, Morgan emphasized that the young woman was 18 years old at the time of their intimacy. In the case of Coach Kirk, Leicester has chosen to keep the identity of the player involved in the incident confidential. However, The Telegraph disclosed that the player in question is a regular starter for the first team.