Alex Scott sends message to women in football after Joey Barton's comments

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·10 December 2023

Alex Scott sends message to women in football after Joey Barton's comments

Former defender-turned-pundit Alex Scott produced a defiant message for all women involved in the football sphere after Arsenal’s 4-1 Women's Super League victory over Emma Hayes’ Chelsea at the end of a week when Joey Barton’s controversial comments have taken social media by storm.

Barton, formerly of Manchester City, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his opinion in a series of misogynistic posts, which was prompted by him claiming that ‘women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game’.

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“Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious. It’s a completely different game. If you don’t accept that. We will always see things differently. The women’s game is thriving. Fantastic to see. I cannot take a thing they say serious in the men’s arena.”

Social media has been ablaze with comments of support for the women working in sport and now Scott, who earned 140 caps for England between 2004 and 2017, has issued her own response, claiming that football is ‘a better place with us all in it.’

Scott sends defiant message to women in football

The BBC presenter reduced former FA Director of the Women's Professional Game to tears

Throughout the week, Barton continued to make remarks towards women working in football, specifically targeting Laura Woods and Scott herself. When asked whether Scott should be commenting on men’s games, Barton suggested she shouldn’t, purely based on the fact that ‘she hasn’t played in it’.

Scott has been prominent in the punditry game since hanging up her boots and has been one of the trailblazers for women becoming more commonplace in football, hosting the popular Football Focus show, while also being a regular fixture on Match of the Day and Sky Sports.

In response to a flurry of comments by Barton, she finished her BBC Sport punditry duties for Sunday’s clash between the two London sides, which was played in front of a WSL-record of 59,042 at the Emirates Stadium, with a heartfelt message for many women in football.

"Just before we say goodbye. To all the women in football, in front of the camera or behind it, to the players on the pitch, to everyone that attends games – 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."

Kelly Simmons, the former Director of the Women's Professional Game at the FA, came to Scott’s defence on X as she claimed that her closing statement reduced her to tears, while insisting that women have had to fight to get where they are in the realm of football and, as such, are going nowhere.

Hayes’ response to Barton’s public outburst

Emma Hayes: Women are used to dealing with systemic misogyny

Scott has not been alone, however. A plethora of popular faces in football – both men and women – have been publicly outspoken about Barton’s rant, though Woods and Emma Hayes have been particularly on hand to hit back. The current Chelsea Women’s boss, who has been praised for her expertise, has also responded to Barton in style.

"The realities are that male privilege has been something that’s always been at the centre of football in this country, women were banned playing football up until the 1970s. “I don’t expect any individual personality to understand their privilege, nonetheless you only have to see scores of women whether you’re a presenter, a coach or a player to realise that we’re routinely used to dealing with systemic misogyny, bullying, and behaviour that has been pretty normal for a large part of the football public. “Sport is probably the last place in society where that male privilege exists and so naturally, if I go all Darwinism on us and speak evolutionary theory, the realities are that when there is an existential threat, you either evolve or you die."

Set to take over the reins as the United States Women's national team manager at the end of this campaign, Hayes' passionate response should give many women working in football hope that opportunities will continue to arise and that, irrespective of gender, that all personalities are welcome to provide their insight on the beautiful game.