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Alex Scott sent a defiant message to women in football, claiming that the sport \u201cis a better place with us all in it\u201d at the end of a week where Joey Barton\u2019s sexist outbursts have made headlines.<\/p>\n
In a series of sexist tweets, recently-sacked Bristol Rovers manager and former one-cap England international Barton suggested that women \u201cshouldn\u2019t be talking with any kind of authority\u201d on men\u2019s football, before comparing having women on commentary, co-commentary or punditry duty as \u201clike me talking about knitting or netball\u201d.<\/p>\n
He also bemoaned the fact that \u201cyou cannot watch a game now without hearing the nonsense\u201d and that \u201cany man who says otherwise is an absolute fart parcel\u201d as well as repeatedly calling any dissenters \u201ceunuchs\u201d. He then expanded his remit of rage to insist that \u201ctokenistic\u201d hiring practices mean there will no longer be any jobs available in men\u2019s football for white, middle-aged, British men.<\/p>\n
In an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored<\/em> on TalkTV, Barton also specifically took aim at Scott, who won 140 caps for England and has become a prominent pundit since her retirement, including as the current host of Football Focus on the BBC. \u201cShe hasn\u2019t played in it [the men\u2019s game],\u201d said Barton. \u201cOne is 200 years old and one is about 40 years old\u2026 It\u2019s the same rules but football is about a lot more than rules\u2026 The games are at two different speeds.\u201d<\/p>\n After presenting live coverage of the Women\u2019s Super League clash between Arsenal and Chelsea on Sunday afternoon \u2013 which was played in front of a WSL-record crowd of 59,042 at the Emirates Stadium \u2013 Scott took the opportunity to slyly hit back at Barton\u2019s comments and deliver a heartfelt message to women in football.<\/p>\n "Just before we say goodbye,\u201d began Scott. \u201cTo all the women in football, in front of the camera or behind it, to the players on the pitch, to everyone that attends games \u2013 keep being the role models that you continue to be to all those young girls that are told 'no, you can't'. Football is a better place with us all in it."<\/p>\n Another female broadcaster, Laura Woods, was among those to rebuke Barton for his initial comments earlier this week, saying: \u201cJoey\u2019s entitled to his opinion. If he feels that strongly about women in the men\u2019s game he could ask for a private conversation with the broadcasters and state his case.<\/p>\n \u201cThese tweets only encourage a pile-on for the women getting on with their jobs. Or was that the intention?\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about Barton\u2019s comments in her pre-match press conference on Friday, Chelsea women\u2019s manager Emma Hayes \u2013 who will leave her role to coach the USA women\u2019s national team at the end of the season \u2013 reflected on the \u201csystemic misogyny\u201d faced by women in football.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cThe realities are male privilege has always been at the centre of football in this country. I feel that sport is the last place in society where that male privilege exists.\u201d<\/p>\n