Leicester Women’s manager, Willie Kirk, has been suspended due to an alleged relationship with a player. Kirk will miss his team’s FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool while the club confirms an internal investigation.
He joined the club in 2022 as the director of football before taking over as manager.
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Willie Kirk, Leicester Women’s manager, will not take charge of his team’s game on Saturday due to an internal inquiry into an alleged relationship with a player.
Leicester defeated Liverpool 2-0 in an FA Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday, although Kirk, who joined the club as director of football in 2022 before becoming manager, was not in the dugout.
According to The Guardian, Kirk has been accused of having a connection with one of his players, and the 45-year-old has been sidelined while the situation is investigated.
A Leicester spokeswoman stated: “Willie Kirk is assisting the club with an internal process, the results of which will be determined in due course.”
‘For Saturday’s FA Women’s Cup fixture against Liverpool, assistant manager Jennifer Foster and first-team coach Stephen Kirby will lead the team.’
He joined Leicester in July two years ago and was appointed manager in November, succeeding Lydia Bedford.
He led the club to tenth place in the Women’s Super League that season despite failing to score in his first six games, and his team is presently eighth in the 2023-24 league standings.
Kirk, who had a brief non-league playing career, began his coaching career as an under-14 coach at Livingston, Scotland, in 2006.
He joined Hibernian as an under-17 coach in 2009 before taking over as manager of the women’s team in 2010.
He stayed manager for four years, winning the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, before moving to Bristol City in 2015 after a brief spell at Preston, where he managed relegation and promotion.
In 2018, he joined the coaching staff of Manchester United’s newly established team before taking over at Everton in December of the same year. He quit his position in October 2021 to join Leicester.
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