Leicester Women suspend manager Willie Kirk over alleged relationship with player.

Coach will not be in the dugout for the side’s FA Cup encounter against Liverpool on Saturday. He is aiding the club with an internal process.

Willie Kirk, manager of Leicester City Women, has been suspended while the club investigates allegations that he had a connection with a player.

The probe, which was first reported by the Guardian on Friday evening, means Kirk will miss his team’s Women’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Liverpool on Saturday.

A Leicester spokeswoman told Telegraph Sport that Willie Kirk is assisting the club with an internal procedure, the results of which will be determined in due course.

“Assistant manager Jennifer Foster and first-team coach Stephen Kirby will take charge of the team for Saturday’s FA Women’s Cup tie at Liverpool.”

Kirk and his representatives have been approached for any responses.

Kirk has been Leicester’s manager since November 2022, having previously served as director of football. He led the club to safety in the top tier last season, avoiding relegation after taking over when they were at the bottom of the league. His team is now sixth in the WSL, ten points clear of the relegation zone.

The 45-year-old has previously led Bristol City and Everton in the Women’s Super League, as well as Hibernian in Scotland, and served as Manchester United’s assistant manager.

On Friday night, a source close to the Leicester squad said the inquiry had caught them off guard. Kirk held his regular pre-match news conference and customary media obligations on Thursday afternoon, ahead of the club’s trip to Liverpool.

Following Saturday’s cup match, Leicester will travel to Tottenham on Sunday, March 17 in the WSL, then visit Brighton seven days later before facing Aston Villa on Saturday, March 30.

For Leicester, this probe comes just a month after it was revealed that their former manager, Jonathan Morgan, had been fired by Sheffield United Women after the South Yorkshire club discovered that Morgan had a connection with a player when he was in charge at Leicester.

Morgan acknowledged to The Athletic in February that he had a relationship with a Leicester City player while he was manager. The player’s identity was suppressed to preserve her privacy. Her mother stated that the player was 17 when the relationship began with Morgan, who was in his late twenties at the time. The player accused him of using her “immaturity”. Morgan stated that she was 18 during their relationship.