Joey Barton has added fuel to his ongoing feud with women soccer pundits. The former QPR player grabbed headlines when he claimed that women pundits shouldn’t comment on men’s soccer. The initial remarks were pushed back by renowned soccer pundit and former player, Alex Scott.
Alex Scott concluded the BBC’s coverage of the Women’s Super League fixture between Arsenal and Chelsea on December 10 by stating that soccer is a better place with us [women] all in it. These comments were a direct response to Barton, who earlier made some s*xist comments about women soccer pundits.
The response from Scott received praise on social media from fans, experts, and news reports which prompted Barton to push back with his response on social media. The former Bristol Rovers manager took to ‘X’ to offer a solution to Alex Scott.
Barton offered a soccer match as part of a ‘friendship cup’ where the winner of the FA National Sunday Cup (a men’s tournament) can clash against either the winner of the Women’s Super League or the Women’s National team of England. If the winner of the FA National Sunday Cup couldn’t beat the England side or WSL Champions, Barton has agreed to ‘take back everything’ he said.
…connntinnuuuuuuuhhhhhtuuuu what, sorry @AlexScott
I can’t say you don’t know Men’s football?
You don’t.
Sorry.
You don’t have a clue.
And you were a really, bad player compared to even a Sunday League player.
In my opinion, The winner of the FA National Sunday cup… https://t.co/36775ByA89
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) December 11, 2023
The FA Sunday Cup is a knockout-style amateur competition that is competed among the Sunday league soccer teams in England. The proposed ‘friendship cup’ is another dig from Barton to claim that even men’s amateur sides can win against top-level women’s sides in England.
Barton also took some direct shots at Alex Scott by claiming that she doesn’t have a clue about men’s soccer. However, the former midfielder offered Scott to change his perspective by making a guest appearance on his podcast to defend her stance.
Joey Barton claimed that women shouldn’t comment on men’s soccer
All this back and forth started when Barton stated that renowned women English presenters, Laura Woods and Bianca Westwood, were not good enough to debate him. He first issued an open invitation to debate him on soccer on his podcast.
He followed it with shots at Woods and Westwood: “Bianca Westwood and Laura Woods. Had a lot to say recently, I’ll do you both in the same sitting if you like. You can team up. I’ll park you both up together. We can do it one at a time or take it in turns. Your call? This is obviously for a podcast before you all get you knickers in a twist.”
Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind 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 thriving. Fantastic to see.
I cannot take a thing they…
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) December 6, 2023
Barton’s comments on December 7 also grabbed headlines: “Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious.” These remarks pushed Barton into mainstream discussion again for all the wrong reasons.
The former midfielder has been unemployed since October after being sacked by Bristol Rovers. He managed the team for 143 games in 2.5 years. These comments and controversy from Barton are his way of staying relevant in the mainstream media which has been pointed out by many reports and online fans. The ball is in Alex Scott’s court if she wants to hit back at Barton with a response.