“HANG this in the kitchen lads, just to remind the GIRLS what the rules are.”
That was just one TV pundit’s crass attempts at ‘bantz’ and oh how we laughed. Not.
Except the joke starts to wear even thinner when you realise it isn’t Richard Keys or a dinosaur from the Flintstones era but a tweet from the new England WOMEN’S manager Phil Neville.
Or how about his tweet and thoughts on the women’s game: “This #Socceraid game makes women’s football look like the Premier League.”
Or women in general: “Singapore is an amazing place . . . the airport is a woman’s dreamworld.”
And wait for it, let’s throw in a joke about domestic violence: “Relax I’m back chilled . . . just battered the wife. Feel better now.”
Maybe, Phil, if it all goes pear-shaped with the Lionesses you could get a stand-up spot at Bernard Manning’s old club on the Oldham Road.
All of course now deleted. As if he and the FA can simply airbrush it from history.
‘I’M SORRY’ England women’s manager Phil Neville will not face charge over ‘sexist’ tweets
This is, of course, the same FA who were forced to sack previous manager Mark Sampson for “inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour” with female players while boss of Bristol City.
The same FA who were warned that all was not as it seemed at City BEFORE Sampson was even appointed, with concerns flagged up again a few months into his job.
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And the same FA who were hauled before a House of Commons select committee as recently as October over racist, bullying and harassment claims by England women’s star Eni Aluko.
You think they might have learned a few lessons over the last few months. As a director of Women in Football and one of the first women to write about the game nearly a quarter of a century ago, I wonder how much longer it will be before the FA really start taking sexism seriously — or women in the industry in general?
They talk a good game these days but I’m concerned much of it is lip service, especially with the departure of Dame Heather Rabbatts from the board, who did her utmost to hold them to account.
It was summed up by the fact the FA announced the appointment of Neville on the MEN’S team Twitter account and not the WOMEN’S.
Never mind question marks over due diligence and transparency over the entire selection process.
Reverse the situation and imagine the reaction if a woman with no managerial experience whatsoever was to succeed Gareth Southgate as England men’s manager?
You get the feeling that despite employing headhunters at vast sums, senior figures at the FA simply bumped into Neville at a Christmas party and thought ‘he’ll do’.
And knowing their recent blunders, maybe they even approached the wrong brother and wanted Gary, not Phil, in the first place.
Part of the problem, of course, is the lack of opportunities for women in coaching, often in the football industry in general.
Uefa figures show that 278 men hold a pro licence in England compared to just FIVE women.
So if the FA — basically Dan Ashworth, Martin Glenn and Greg Clarke — who let’s face it had to be forced to increase the number of women on their board to a grand total of three from one, want to put their money where their mouth is they should start addressing that.
But don’t hold your breath, girls.
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