To boot out misogyny and hate, Barton must be given the red card, argues Shadia Edwards-Dashti

When the Lionesses were crowned UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 champions to win their first major title in front of a record crowd, women in sport knew it was a game changing moment. But two years on and female footballers are tackling sexist stigmas on and off the pitch. While there are now more women with sports television roles than ever before, as a reporter and footballer, it’s a gruelling test of endurance.

Ex-footballer turned ‘X’ keyboard warrior, Joey Barton is back. His vile rants against female pundits resulted in football commentator Eni Aluko fearing for her safety and leaving the country following online abuse sparked by his attacks.

Here’s a recap. It began last month when Barton tweeted: “Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on… I cannot take a thing they say seriously in the men’s arena.”

Since then, he has repeatedly taken to social media to lambast women in men’s football, claiming their presence is down to “tokenism” which “lowers the journalistic standards” and comparing their input as the equivalent of a man “talking about knitting or netball.” During the 20-minute medieval segment with Piers Morgan he doubled down, “everywhere you turn now, there’s an unqualified opinion pontificating about the sport I love, and it’s ruining my experience.” Despite being a self-defined “bona fide expert”, he failed to answer a single question nor demonstrate any way standards are being lowered by women, or how commentaries should be improved.

Understandably many have chosen not to give these extremist comments airtime but ignoring such rhetoric from someone with a huge, albeit undeserved profile, is no longer an option.

And here’s why… the latest statistics show 90% of sports editors are men, while 88.5% of sports reporters, 83.4% of columnists, and 79.6% of copy editors are also male. While Aluko is leading the way to level the playing field, men still completely dominate sport and chat around and about it. Making her debut on Match of the Day a decade ago, Eni Aluko said she wanted to “open the door not just for me, but for other women to follow.”

The former England and Arsenal footballer transitioned from athlete to sports commentator in 2020. During her career the forward scored 33 goals in 102 games for her country. She won four Women’s FA Cups and three Women’s Super League titles. She kicked down barriers by becoming the first female football pundit for the BBC and Sky Sports. Diversifying representation and visibility has been a game changer for women in the industry. It has widened audiences and increased accessibility. Aluko and other female sports journalists have been vital in elevating women’s participation in sport as well as raising a series of crucial issues, from motherhood in sport to the pay gap. It’s essential that women continue to have a voice and space in football’s narrative and conversation.

Despite all this Barton accuses women in sports commentary of sleeping their way to the top and getting their analysis from “pillow talk.” This accusation tells you something about newsrooms and media in general where three-quarters of journalists agreed that a “macho and intimidating culture” is prevalent. In the same report, 73% believe career progression is more difficult for women in the news and media industry than it is for men.

In response to Aluko’s recent pre-match punditry, Barton said “she can’t even kick a ball” compared her and co-presenter Lucy Ward to serial killers; “the Fred and Rose West of football commentary”.

Writing about Aluko’s recent departure from the UK, he claimed she is “playing the victim card” continuing “Eni, sorry luv, you’re dreadful as a pundit. Tone deaf, can’t count and most importantly you know next to nothing about men’s football.”

Barton has also targetted England goalkeeper Mary Earps. As she was crowned Sports Personality of the Year in December 2023 he wrote on X, “I’d score 100 out of 100 penalties against Mary Earps. Any day of the week. Twice on a f*****g Sunday. #perspective.”

Joey Barton is endangering all the work to improve the reputation of women in sport despite his own problematic past. The ex-Manchester City midfielder and former Bristol Rovers manager is a twice convicted violent criminal. He has been charged on three occasions with violent conduct by the FA for fighting with teammates and opposition players. Other exploits include dressing up as Jimmy Savile, putting out a cigar in a teammate’s eye and running over a pedestrian. Joey Barton should have hung up his boots -in all ways- long ago. Instead, he uses his platform and privilege to spout extremist archaic views that have no space in sport today. The British Sports Minister has even condemned comments as “dangerous” and has vowed to intervene with social media platforms.

Women in sport, on the pitch and on the side-lines, have an inherent commitment to widening the goalposts by challenging stereotypes and advocating for change for the benefit of the industry itself and future generations. Under this kind of attack, female sports journalists are constantly playing in a relegation battle, fighting for survival. Barton denies his prejudices and attempts to justify his views by proclaiming, “I’m not sexist, I have a daughter!”

With a defence like that it’s clear these comments go far beyond the pitch and pose a threat not just to women in sport, but women everywhere. Barton encapsulates not only everything women in football kick back against, but what women in journalism tackle daily and further afield, what women everywhere challenge. To boot out misogyny and hate, Barton must be given the red card.