Joey Barton says Alex Scott ‘shouldn’t comment on men’s football’ in a direct attack on the BBC’s punditry golden girl… as former Sky Sports commentator Bianca Westwood takes him to task over sexist comments
Joey Barton has said Alex Scott “shouldn’t be commenting on men’s football” as he continues his tirade about women’s participation in a male-dominated field.
The former Bristol Rovers manager and former Manchester City player came under fire this week for his controversial posts about female broadcasters and pundits, tweeting that women “should not speak to any authority in the men’s game”.
After his comments caused huge outrage online, he was invited onto Piers Morgan’s TalkTV show, where he amplified his thoughts by attacking the “woke agenda” and claiming the world was “going crazy” due to soaring numbers women presenters. .
And in his rant he also took aim at BBC golden girl Scott, who is one of football’s leading female pundits and host of the popular Football Focus show. She also appeared regularly on Match of the Day and Sky Sports.
When asked about Scott’s commentary on men’s games, Barton replied, “She didn’t play them.”
Joey Barton has said Alex Scott “shouldn’t be commenting on men’s football” as he continues his rant about women’s participation in men’s football.
He added: “One is 200 years old and the other is about 40 years old… the rules are the same, but football is more than just the rules… The games are played at two different speeds.
“I don’t care where you’re from or how many games you’ve played, but you have to have a reputable team to help you achieve your goal… the world has gone crazy.”
He previously responded to a fan questioning him about Scott’s credentials as a pundit by saying: “Fantastic women’s footballer. Framed in her game. If she’s representing a man’s game, no problem, run the show. But no, in my opinion, she has no right to speak with any authority about the men’s game.”
On Morgan’s show, Barton explained that he doesn’t want to be seen as promoting sexism, but he is against “unqualified opinions.”
“I don’t want to see sexism in football, but if we don’t discuss (the role of women in football broadcasting) properly, it will only grow and grow and ruin the experience of watching elite level men’s football.” ” Barton said when asked by Morgan whether the language in his social media posts was intentionally inflammatory.
“Everywhere you turn now there is an unquestioning opinion preaching about the sport I love and it is ruining my experience to feed this woke agenda and it will lead to a massive increase in sexism because this is supposed to be a true meritocracy. We need people who can fill these roles.”
A former Premier League footballer has sparked fresh controversy after criticizing women getting jobs in men’s football.
When asked why he didn’t think women were qualified, Barton stressed it was “absolutely not” that women weren’t playing at the top level of the men’s game.
Instead, he argued, he was against “tokenism” before adding: “Obviously talking about the men’s game is helpful if you’ve played at a higher level because it gives you a unique experience.”
“There are a lot of similarities between both sports, but in the men’s game the game is played at a completely different speed and requires a different set of skills. For someone to stand there and say, “I would have done that,” or “He made a mistake,” who has no experience in this…
“It’s not just one or two, it (football broadcasting) has been hijacked.
“I don’t want to seem sexist, I have a wonderful wife, a wonderful daughter, grandmother.
Barton doubled down on his controversial views while appearing on Piers Morgan: Uncensored on Thursday night.
“We want it to be diverse and inclusive, but it has to be credible.”
After his one-on-one meeting with Morgan, Barton was joined by Sky Sports presenter Bianca Westwood, as well as female sports presenters Kate Borsay and Pearl Davies.
Westwood decided to chastise him because, in his opinion, women do not have the necessary qualifications.
“Who then has the right to talk about football?” I’ve been watching football for 40 years, my first West Ham game was before Joey was born.
“I spent hours watching football,” she said. “I worked behind the scenes at Sky for 10 years before I was even invited on camera, watching as my male colleagues, who may not have been as good as me, were given chances I was never given.
“I don’t quite understand that we need to know how long we need to work behind the scenes before we are allowed on camera. For a pandit, the laws are the same. Emma Hayes and Sarina Wigman can read the game. Are you saying they can’t offer insight?
Sky Sports presenter Bianca Westwood later chastised Barton for his claim that women had no right to talk about the men’s game.
“It seems to me that Joey has problems with specific experts who didn’t do enough in the game, but how does he know? And how do we measure this? There are EFL players who commentate on Champions League games. So what level – from Joey Barton’s point of view – do you need to reach to become an expert in the “man’s game”?
Barton’s first tweet sparked outrage, in which he insisted he “can’t take what they say seriously” when it comes to men.
“Women should not speak to any authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious.
“It’s a completely different game. If you don’t accept it. We will always see things differently.
“The women’s game is booming. Fantastic view. I can’t take what they say seriously in a men’s arena.”
Previously, Barton supported the #HERGAMETOO initiative aimed at combating sexism in sports.
Barton’s posts come after he previously supported the #HERGAMETOO initiative.
This is a campaign aimed at combating sexism in sport. Barton poses with a promotional card from his time as Bristol Rovers manager.
Back in October, he also sparked controversy after sharing his apparent support for former Newcastle and England manager Kevin Keegan’s comments that he didn’t like female footballers talking about men’s football.
At a live event in Bristol, Keegan said: “(I don’t like) hearing women talk about the England men’s team at a match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with this.”
In response, Barton wrote on X: “Kevin Keegan. Winner of the 1978 Ballon d’Or. England coach. He’s on top.
His remarks also came just a week after he appeared to downplay his brother Michael Barton’s role in a 2005 racially motivated murder, calling him “f***ing rubbish”.
A promotional video for Barton’s appearance on a new podcast showed him downplaying his brother’s role in the racially motivated murder of Anthony Walker.
Barton was playing for Manchester City when Michael was convicted of the murder of Anthony Walker, and his brother was serving 17 years of a life sentence for his part in the murder of an 18-year-old black boy at McGoldrick Park in Liverpool before he was sentenced to life in prison. released from prison in September 2022.
Barton appeared to downplay the severity of his brother’s crime in promotional materials for his appearance on the podcast Anything Goes with James English, which circulated on social media on Thursday.
“My brother lost 17 years of his 17 years of life,” Barton said. “Because his buddy, who was his cousin at the time, thought it would be a fantastic idea, when they were having some fucking shit, to pull out an ice pick and swing it at somebody, and he stuck it in somebody’s head “
The Anthony Walker Foundation said in a statement to Mail Sport that it believed the description was “factually inaccurate” and “lacked any sensitivity given the serious nature of the incident.”