Alex Scott sends message to Joey Barton live on air after ex-footballer's rant
Alex Scott has taken another swipe at Joey Barton as the fallout from his comments over women working in football continues.
Barton, recently sacked as manager of Bristol Rovers, ignited fury when he took to social media to lament the notion of female pundits commenting on the men's professional game. He later doubled down on his views, appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored where he was specifically pressed on the capabilities of Scott, who has cemented a reputation for being an accomplished pundit across a variety of platforms.
“She hasn’t played in it [the men's game]," Barton told Morgan. “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 rule. The games are at two different speeds."
Scott initially responded via an Instagram story. She posted footage of herself making a quip about Barton as she spoke to a man outside Old Trafford as she was preparing to conduct an interview.
But on Sunday, she passionately defended females involved in the sport. And he words were undoubtedly aimed at the former Manchester City, Newcastle, and QPR player, who has also aimed rants at the likes of Laura Woods and Bianca Westwood.
Alex Scott makes surprise appearance at the Grammys in slinky silver dress"Just before we say goodbye," said Scott, after Arsenal had prevailed 4-1. "To all the women in football, in front of the camera or behind it, 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. Goodbye."
Among those to discuss the saga, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes recently said that misogyny and bullying are issues that women are “routinely used to dealing with” in football. Hayes was speaking after former player Barton criticised women working in the men’s game.
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“Male privilege has been something that’s always been at the centre of football in this country,” Hayes told a press conference. You only have to see scores of women across the internet or in the business – whether you’re a presenter, you’re a coach or a player – to realise 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.”
Hayes, who has been Chelsea manager for 11 years and masterminded six Women’s Super League titles, has also worked as a television pundit across the men’s and women’s games.
She said: “I think when it comes to the sport of football in this case, we have to remember that society isn’t always as well represented across the media or across the game in coaching or playing etc. If you haven’t experienced systemic misogyny, like lots of us have, you can’t for one moment understand how detrimental some of these conversations are, knowing that anything anyone says just enables an absolute pile-on, particularly on social media.”