08 December 2023 , 08:44
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Joey Barton continued his tirade against women commenting on men's football, with Football Focus host Alex Scott his latest target.
Former Bristol Rovers boss Barton caused controversy with his tweets about female commentators during the week, and doubled down during an interview with Piers Morgan. He has received plenty of backlash, with former Soccer Saturday reporter Bianca Westwood among those to hit back at the one-cap England international,
Scott, who won 140 caps for England's women's team, has become the latest to come under the spotlight as Barton refuses to dial back on his comments. Scott, 39, enjoyed a decorated career at the top of the game, but that's not enough for Barton.
“She hasn’t played in it [the men's game]," Barton said on Piers Morgan Uncensored. “One is 200 years old and one is about 40 years old… It’s the same rules but football is about a lot more than rules… The games are at two different speeds."
"Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious," Barton had posted on social media earlier in the week.
Alex Scott makes surprise appearance at the Grammys in slinky silver dress
"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."
Barton also encouraged a focus on women's football from those who have lent their voice to commentary and punditry around the men's game. Scott has worked on domestic and international broadcasts of the women's game alongside her work in men's football.
What have you made of the Barton episode? Have your say in the comments section
Alex Scott was the target of Joey Barton's comments (Getty Images)"They also have a fantastic sport called, Women’s football they can and should support as well," Barton wrote. "But the influencer nonsense. The takeover of comms, Co-comms and punditry stuff, it’s got to end mate. It’s becoming a joke."
TNT Sports presenter Laura Woods was another of those to criticise Barton following his comments, paying particular attention to his targeting of vloggers. In doing so, she picked up on the ex-footballer calling those who disagreed with him "eunuchs" and threw the comments back in his face.
"Usually avoid these conversations as I don’t like adding more oxygen. But throwing young vloggers to the wolves is wrong," Woods wrote.
"I started my career vlogging and I’ve always got on with Joey. He also sent me a lovely good luck message for TNT in June. Does that make him a eunuch too?"