Peter Shilton backs up Kevin Keegan after abhorrent verdict on female pundits
Peter Shilton has come out in support of Kevin Keegan after his comments about female football pundits caused a storm.
Former England manager Keegan has been widely criticised after voicing his opinion on retired England women’s players appearing on television to work on men’s games. The 72-year-old said: “I don’t like to listen to ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with that.”
Lianne Sanderson, who made 50 appearances for the Lionesses between 2006 and 2015, accused Keegan of misogyny and added in a tweet: “He’s irrelevant. But I would absolutely ‘Love it’ if he would shut up! Those comments are not needed. It’s a shame people feel threatened by some of us. Unlucky for those people!”
But Shilton, who played alongside Keegan during his England career from 1972 to 1982, has jumped to his defence. The 74-year-old former goalkeeper, who is England’s most-capped player with 125, appeared on GB News to discuss the topic on Friday.
“I personally can see what Kevin was getting at,” he said. “I think it's been taken out of context. I mean he’s been described as a dinosaur. He was managing Man City in 2005, so you know it's not that long ago. He's a man of big experience and managed England.
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"And I think basically what he's actually saying, would women play against men in the men's game? No, they won't because of obvious other things.
"And you know, should a woman who's probably been at the top of her career in the last four or five years in the women's game, be put in front of maybe somebody that's got 15 year’s experience of top class international football?”
Kevin Keegan has been widely criticised for his views (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)Keegan was speaking to around 250 people at ‘An Evening With Kevin Keegan OBE’ in Bristol when he said: “I’m not as keen, I’ve got to be honest, and it may not be a view shared. I don’t like to listen to ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with that.”
He added: “The presenters we have now, some of the girls are so good, they are better than the guys. It’s a great time for the ladies. But if I see an England lady footballer saying about England against Scotland at Wembley and she’s saying, ‘If I would have been in that position I would have done this,’ I don’t think it’s quite the same. I don’t think it crosses over that much.”
Jill Scott, Karen Carney and Alex Scott are among the former England internationals to regularly appear as pundits on men’s matches. None have commented publicly on Keegan’s opinion.
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