Alex Scott laughs off Joey Barton’s rant that she ‘shouldn’t comment on men’s football’, while Laura Woods ignores his tirade of messages inviting her to debate over female pundits
- Joey Barton claimed that BBC pundit Alex Scott shouldn’t discuss men’s football
- Scott has since replied to the former Bristol Rovers manager on her social media
- There’s a lot of anger at Man United – it’s them against the world! Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Alex Scott has fired back at Joey Barton’s claims that she ‘shouldn’t comment on men’s football’ via a post on her Instagram story – by laughing at even mentioning his name.
Barton, who is currently out of work after leaving Bristol Rovers as manager last month, has come under fire this week for his controversial views that women ‘shouldn’t be talking with any authority’ in the men’s game – before doubling down on his opinion on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
The outspoken 41-year-old hit out at the ‘woke agenda’ for the uptick in female professionals working in the men’s arena but insisted his thoughts were not to do with sexism.
Since appearing on the TV show, Barton continued to rant on social media, claiming ‘highly qualified men cannot get a job on TV because under qualified women fill these quotas’.
Included within that was the claim that Scott ‘shouldn’t comment on men’s football’ as he continued his tirade on women’s involvement in the sport.
BBC Sport pundit Alex Scott fired back at criticism from Joey Barton, prior to an interview, where she joked with a friend that they would ‘talk about’ Barton
Barton claimed Scott was a ‘fantastic women’s footballer’ but ‘isn’t qualified to talk with any authority about the men’s game’
Barton has claimed Scott ‘shouldn’t comment on men’s football’ as he continued his rants about women’s involvement in the men’s game
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The BBC Pundit broke her silence on Friday morning, as she took to her Instagram story to address the situation for the first time.
In the video, Scott (behind the camera) asks her colleague: ‘Who are you interviewing today?’.
The man in the video joked: ‘It might be you actually’ before Scott chimed in and asked: ‘What we gonna talk about, Joey Barton?’ before bursting into hysterics.
When asked about Scott commentating on men’s games, during his appearance on Piers Morgan’s show on TalkTV, Barton said: ‘She hasn’t played in it’.
He added: ‘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.
‘I don’t care where you’re from or how many games you’ve played, but you have to have a body of work that is credible to get you there… the world has gone crazy.’
He had earlier responded to a fan quizzing him about Scott’s credentials as a pundit, saying: ‘Fantastic women’s footballer. Decorated in her game. If she’s presenting a men’s game, no problem, anchor the show. But, no, she isn’t qualified to talk with any authority about the men’s game in my opinion.’
Scott
On Morgan’s show, Barton explained that he did not want to be seen promoting sexism, but that he was against ‘unqualified opinions’.
‘I don’t want to see sexism in football, but if we don’t debate (the role of women in football broadcasting) properly, this is just going to rise and rise, and ruin the experience of watching elite-level men’s football,’ Barton said when asked by Morgan if the language of his social media posts had been deliberately inflammatory.
‘Everywhere you turn now, there’s an unqualified opinion pontificating about the sport I love, and it’s ruining my experience – to fuel this woke agenda, and it’s going to increase sexism massively, because it has to be a true meritocracy. We have to have people who are qualified to do those roles.’
Barton’s posts come after he had previously thrown his support behind the #HERGAMETOO initiative.
This is a campaign which aims to fight against sexism in sport, with Barton posing with a promotional card for the cause when he was Bristol Rovers manager.
Barton doubled down on his controversial views while making an appearance on Piers Morgan: Uncensored on Thursday evening
Barton has previously thrown his support behind the #HERGAMETOO initiative – which aims to fight against sexism in sport
Back in October, he also generated controversy after sharing his apparent backing for former Newcastle and England manager Kevin Keegan’s comments that he doesn’t enjoy female footballers talking about men’s football.
At a live event in Bristol, Keegan had said: ‘(I don’t like) listening 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.’
In response to that, Barton had posted on X: ‘Kevin Keegan. Ballon D’or winner 1978. England manager. He’s bang on.’
On Friday morning, Barton continued his rant by claiming female staff had ‘sent naked pictures to players’ and had ‘full blown affairs’ at previous clubs he worked at.
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