Written by Dan Sales and Oli Gamp for Mailonline
08:18 08 December 2023, updated 15:23 08 December 2023
- Joey Barton has claimed that pundit Alex Scott should not be discussing men’s football
- The controversial star has been criticized for his comments about women
- Ian Ladyman reveals the greatest weapon a manager uses against a journalist – listen to It All Begin
Joey Barton renewed his feud with women’s football pundits today, branding hugely popular Laura Woods and Bianca Westwood “not brave enough” to “argue” with him.
Barton – who is currently unemployed – seemed keen to continue his controversial and attention-grabbing story.
He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Anyone want to come and debate me in this space?” All genders are welcome. It will be two hours of raw debate. Unedited. Are any of you brave enough?
Bianca Westwood and Laura Woods. I’ve had a lot to say lately, I’ll tell you both in the same sitting if you want. You can cooperate. I will stop you both. We can do this one at a time or alternately. your call? Obviously this is for the podcast before you all get underwear in a twist.
He later stated that they rejected him, saying: “They will not come to the show.” They are not brave enough. Much to say yesterday? You should have kept your heads down. Something to hide girls? The cat got your tongue today!
The row sparked by Barton was started by the former player himself on Wednesday when he said: “Women should not be speaking to any kind of authority in the men’s game.” Come here. Let’s be serious.
He continued to call any man who disagreed with him a eunuch, illustrating this with a series of dolls.
And after fanning the flames even more, he was invited to Piers Morgan’s show on Thursday night. At the time, Laura Woods tweeted that he was “encouraging accumulation.”
“Throwing young vloggers to the wolves is wrong,” she said. I started my vlogging career and always communicated with Joey. He also sent me a good luck message to TNT in June. Does that make him a eunuch too?
“Joey has a right to his opinion.” If he felt that strongly about women in the men’s game, he could ask to have a private conversation with the broadcasters and state his case. These tweets only encourage women to pursue their careers. Or was this the intention?
Barton later claimed that Alex Scott “shouldn’t be commenting on men’s football” as he continued his tirade about women’s participation in the sport, rowing with Westwood on the panel.
Barton – known for putting out a cigar in the eye of a young team-mate at a birthday party – objected to any introduction list for women’s football.
Barton, who was jailed in 2008 for affray, ticked the now predictable boxes of attacking the “woke agenda” and saying the world is “going crazy” as he emerges.
Television also saw him target BBC’s golden girl Scott, one of football’s leading pundits and host of the popular Football Focus programme. She has also appeared as a regular face on Match of the Day and Sky Sports.
When Barton was asked about Scott’s commentary on the men’s matches, he said: “She didn’t play in them.”
He added: “One is 200 years old and the other is about 40 years old… They are the same rules but football is about much more than just the rules… The games are at two different speeds.”
“I don’t care where you come from or how many games you’ve played, but you’ve got to have a credible body of work to get there… The world has gone crazy.”
He had previously responded to a fan who asked him about Scott’s credentials as an analyst, saying: “Fantastic women’s footballer.” Decorated at her game. If they offer a men’s match, no problem, make the offer. But no, she is not qualified to speak to any authority about the men’s game in my opinion.
On Morgan’s show, Parton explained that he did not want to be seen promoting sexism, but was against “unqualified opinions.”
“I don’t want to see sexism in football, but if we don’t discuss (the role of women in football broadcasting) properly, it will rise and escalate, ruining the experience of watching men’s football at the elite level.” Barton said when Morgan asked him whether the language of his social media posts was intentionally inflammatory.
“Everywhere you turn now, there’s an unqualified opinion talking about the sport I love, and it’s ruining my experience — to feed this woke agenda, and it will dramatically increase sexism, because it has to be a true meritocracy. We have to have qualified people.” to play these roles.
When asked why he did not feel women were qualified, Barton stressed that it was “absolutely not a question” of women not playing at the highest level of the men’s game.
Instead, he said he was against “tokenism” before adding: “Obviously it’s useful to talk about the men’s game if you’ve played at a higher level, because it gives you a unique experience.”
There are many similarities between the two sports, but the men’s game is played at a completely different speed, with a different skill set required. For someone to stand there and say “I was going to do this,” or “He made a mistake” — and he has no experience with it…
“It’s not just one or two, (football broadcasts) have been taken over.”
“I don’t want to sound sexist, I have a wonderful wife, a wonderful daughter, and a grandmother.
“We want it to be diverse and inclusive, but it has to be credible.”
After his one-on-one meeting with Morgan, Barton was joined by Sky Sports presenter Bianca Westwood, as well as sports presenters Kate Bursay and Burl Davis.
Westwood decided to criticize him for his view that women were incompetent.
Who is qualified to speak on football then? I’ve been watching football for 40 years, and my first match was at West Ham before Joey was born.
“I’ve been watching hours and hours of football,” she said. “I worked behind the scenes at Sky for 10 years before I was even on camera, watching my male colleagues who perhaps weren’t as good as me get opportunities I never had.
“I don’t really understand what we need to know, how long we need to work behind the scenes before we’re allowed to appear in front of the camera. To be a critic, the rules are the same. Emma Hayes and Sarina Wegman can read the game, are you saying they can’t give Recognition at a glance?
It seems to me that Joey has a problem with some critics not doing enough in the game, but how does he know that? How do we appreciate that? There are English Premier League players who commentate and participate in commentating on Champions League matches. So, what level do you have to reach – as far as Joey Barton is concerned – before you become an expert in the ‘man’s game’?
It was Parton’s initial tweet that sparked outrage, as he insisted he “couldn’t take anything they say seriously” if he was in the men’s arena.
Women should not speak with any kind of authority in a men’s game. Come here. Let’s be serious.
“It’s a completely different ball game.” If you do not accept it. We will always see things differently.
“The women’s game is thriving. Great to see. I can’t take what they say seriously in the men’s arena.”
Parton’s posts come after he previously threw his support for the #HERGAMETOO initiative.
The campaign aims to combat sexism in sport, with Barton appearing with a promotional card for the cause when he was manager of Bristol Rovers.
Back in October, he also sparked controversy after sharing his apparent support for former Newcastle and England manager Kevin Keegan’s comments that he did not enjoy female footballers talking about men’s football.
At a live event in Bristol, Keegan said: “(I don’t like) listening to women talk about the England men’s team in a match because I don’t think it’s the same experience.” I have a problem with that.’
In response, Parton posted on X: “Kevin Keegan.” Ballon d’Or winner in 1978. England coach. He fussed over.
His comments also come just a week after he appeared to downplay his brother Michael Barton’s role in a 2005 racially motivated murder as “junk.”
Barton was playing for Manchester City when Michael was convicted of the murder of Anthony Walker, and his brother was serving 17 years of a life sentence for his role in the murder of the black 18-year-old in Liverpool’s McGoldrick Park before he was killed. He was released from prison in September 2022.
Barton appeared to downplay the seriousness of his brother’s crime in promotional materials for his appearance on the radio show Anything Goes with James English that circulated on social media on Thursday.
“My brother lost 17 years of his life out of 17 years,” Barton said. “Because his colleague who was his cousin at the time thought it would be a great idea when they had a scrap to pull out an ice axe, throw it at someone, and he would stick it in someone’s head.”
A statement shared by the Anthony Walker Foundation with Mail Sport said they considered the description “factually inaccurate” and “lacks any sensitivity given the serious nature of the incident”.