Joey Barton says Alex Scott ‘shouldn’t comment on men’s football’ in a direct attack on the BBC’s punditry golden girl… as former Sky Sports commentator Bianca Westwood takes him to task over sexist comments
Joey Barton has claimed Alex Scott is 'not allowed to comment on men's football' as he continued his rant about women's involvement in the male arena.
The former Bristol Rovers boss and ex-Man City player has come under fire this week for his controversial posts about female broadcasters and pundits after tweeting that women 'shouldn't speak with any form of authority in the men's game' .
After his words caused huge outrage online, he was invited to Piers Morgan's show on TalkTV, where he doubled down on these thoughts, citing the “woke agenda” and saying the world was “going crazy” over the increase in the number of female presenters. .
And in his tirade he also took aim at BBC's golden girl Scott, one of football's leading female experts and presenter of the popular Football Focus show. She has also appeared as a regular face on Match of the Day and Sky Sports.
When asked if Scott commented on men's matches, Barton said: “She hasn't played in them.”
Joey Barton has claimed Alex Scott 'shouldn't comment on men's football' as he continued his rants about women's involvement in men's football
He added: 'One is 200 years old and one is about 40 years old… it's the same rules, but football is about much more than just rules… The games take place at two different speeds.
“I don't care where you come from or how many games you've played, but you have to have some credible work to get there… the world has gone crazy.”
He had previously responded to a fan who questioned him about Scott's credentials as a pundit, saying: 'Fantastic women's footballer. Decorated in her game. If she's hosting a gentleman's game, no problem, anchor the show. But no, in my opinion she is not qualified to speak to any authority on the men's game.”
During Morgan's show, Barton explained that he didn't want to be seen as advocating sexism, but that he was against “unqualified opinions.”
'I don't want to see sexism in football, but if we don't properly debate the role of women in football broadcasting, this will just rise and rise and ruin the experience of watching men's football at elite level. Barton said when Morgan asked him if the language in his social media posts had been deliberately inflammatory.
'Everywhere you look now there's some unqualified opinion pontificating about the sport I love, and it's ruining my experience – to fuel this woke agenda, and it's going to massively increase sexism because it has to be a true meritocracy . We need people qualified to fill these roles.”
The former Premier League footballer sparked fresh controversy after lashing out at women getting jobs in men's football
When asked why he felt women were not qualified, Barton insisted it was 'absolutely out of the question' that women had not played at the highest level of the men's game.
Instead, he argued, he was against “tokenism” before adding: “It obviously helps to talk about the men's game when 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 play at a completely different pace and require different skills. If someone stands there and says, 'I would have done this', or 'He made a mistake' – who has no experience with that…
“It's not just one or two, the football broadcasts have been taken over.
'I don't want to sound sexist, I have a wonderful wife, a wonderful daughter and a grandmother.
Barton doubled down on his controversial views when he appeared on Piers Morgan: Uncensored on Thursday night
“We want it to be diverse and inclusive, but it has to be credible.”
Following his one-on-one with Morgan, Barton was joined by Sky Sports presenter Bianca Westwood, as well as female sports presenters Kait Borsay and Pearl Davis.
Westwood decided to take him to task because he believed women were not qualified.
'Who is then authorized to speak about football? I've been watching football for forty years, my first game at West Ham was before Joey was even born.
“I watched hours and hours of football,” she said. 'I worked behind the scenes at Sky for ten years before I even got a picture in front of the camera. I saw my male colleagues, who may not have been as good as me, given opportunities that I never would have had.
'I don't really understand what we need to know, how long we have to work behind the scenes before we can go on camera. For an expert, the laws are the same. Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman can both read the game, you mean they can't provide insight?
Sky Sports presenter Bianca Westwood later took Barton to task over his claim that women were not qualified to speak about the men's game
“It seems like Joey has a problem with certain pundits who haven't done enough in the game, but how does he know that? And how do we quantify that? There are EFL players doing commentary, co-commentary on Champions League matches. What level do you have to reach – as far as Joey Barton is concerned – before you can become an expert in the 'man's game'?'
It was Barton's first tweet to spark outrage, with him insisting he “can't take anything they say seriously” when it comes to the men's arena.
'Women are not allowed to speak with any form of authority in the men's game. Come on. Let's be serious.
'It's a completely different game. If you don't accept that. We will always see things differently.
“The women's game is flourishing. Fantastic to see. I can't take what they say in the men's arena seriously.”
Barton has previously expressed his support for the #HERGAMETOO initiative, which aims to combat sexism in sports
Barton's posts come after he previously expressed support for the #HERGAMETOO initiative.
This is a campaign that aims to combat sexism in sport, with Barton posing with a promotional card for the cause when he was manager of Bristol Rovers.
He also caused controversy in October after voicing his apparent support for former Newcastle and England manager Kevin Keegan's comments that he does not like female footballers talking about men's football.
Speaking at a live event in Bristol, Keegan had said: '(I don't like) listening to ladies talking about the England men's team during the match because I don't think it's the same experience. I have a problem with that.'
In response, Barton had posted to X: “Kevin Keegan. Ballon D'or winner 1978. England manager. He's ready.'
His comments also come just a week after he appeared to downplay his brother Michael Barton's role in a racially motivated 2005 murder as a “damn scrap.”
A promotional clip for Barton's appearance on a new podcast appeared to him downplaying his brother's role in the racially motivated murder of Anthony Walker.
Barton was playing for Manchester City when Michael was convicted of the murder of Anthony Walker, while his brother served 17 years of a life sentence for his part in the murder of the black 18-year-old at Liverpool's McGoldrick Park before he was killed. Released from prison September 2022.
Barton appeared to downplay the seriousness of his brother's crime in promotional material for his appearance on the podcast Anything Goes with James English, which circulated on social media on Thursday.
“My brother lost 17 years of his life starting when he was 17,” Barton said. “Because his buddy, who was his cousin at the time, thought it would be a fantastic idea if they had any damn scrap metal, to pull out an ice ax and swing it at someone, and he stuck it in someone's head.”
A statement shared with Mail Sport by the Anthony Walker Foundation said they found the description 'factually incorrect' and 'lacked any sensitivity given the serious nature of the incident'.