‘Women are qualified to talk about men’s football, I’ll put Barton in his place’
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Former Lioness Fara Williams is gearing up to roar down mouthy ex-footballer Joey Barton after his claim women should not be commentating on men’s football.
Unemployed manager and ex-Manchester City player Barton sparked a sexism row after comparing women’s views on the game to go-karters discussing F1. He also singled out Alex Scott saying she should not be a pundit and called blokes who support them “eunuchs”.
Fara, England’s highest-capped female player, says: “Joey is going to come on a podcast in January with myself and Rio Ferdinand to have a debate about it. Of course I’ll put him in his place.
READ MORE: Joey Barton says Football Focus has been destroyed by 'the tokens' in latest rant
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“I think he has some valid points in what he’s saying but the one point that isn’t valid – and I won’t agree with – is females shouldn’t, and aren’t qualified, to talk about men’s football. That’s nonsense in my opinion and I’ve already voiced that to him. We’ll have that debate.”
The former midfielder, who retired at the end of the 2020/21 season, is calling for cleaner talk all round, on the pitch as well as off.
She adds: “Football is the only sport where females seem to be talked about by men.
"We’ve seen over the years male and females speaking and commentating on athletics, tennis, boxing, cricket and rugby and you’ve never heard any of those sports’ males commenting about females talking about it. It’s only ever football that has that. I’m looking forward to the debate with Barton.”
Unhelpful commentary causing unnecessary distractions has had in a detrimental effect on players’ performance and the quality of recorded footage, according to 89% of parents surveyed by Google. Their new AI-led feature Audio Magic Eraser will allow users of the Google Pixel 8 to rub out shouting, swearing or any unwelcome noise from videos.
Fara, 39, says: “I have nieces and nephews that both play and there’s so much pressure on youngsters to be the next best thing when really they’re in their development phase.
“I’m a coach myself and there’s a huge dropout because of unnecessary nonsense of things they don’t want to hear and negative feedback or criticism. The magic eraser would be perfect to erase Joey’s voice from what he’s saying.”
After playing for Great Britain during the 2012 London Olympics, helping the Lionesses to a runner-up position at the 2009 Euros and winning two Women’s Super League titles with Liverpool plus the FA Cup with both Arsenal and Everton, Fara chose to retire for her personal well being.
In 2020 she was diagnosed with kidney condition nephrotic syndrome, which can lead to ankle and leg swelling. Now Fara is proud to see the female game going from strength to strength.
She says: “What the Lionesses have done – winning the Euros and getting to a World Cup final – has changed perception and put a little bit of respect on the game of women’s football.
"There seems to be this stigma with football that it’s meant to be a male-dominated game and women shouldn’t be playing. The Lionesses in the last two years have changed that perception which is fantastic for the game moving forward.”
To be in with a chance of winning a Google Pixel 8, with the new AI-powered Audio Magic Eraser tool, for each member of your football team and parents, email [email protected] with your club details.
- Rio Ferdinand
- Exclusives
- England women’s football team
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