BBC
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the debate about whether women should work as football pundits is “ridiculous”.
Sunak says the job should be “open to everybody” following comments by former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton.
Barton’s comments about Eni Aluko led to the ex-England forward receiving abuse and feeling “genuinely scared”.
“I listen to all sorts of conversations and they’re all great. It shouldn’t really matter, quite frankly,” said Sunak.
“Of course it should be open to everybody.”
Aluko said she was scared to leave her house after comments from Barton earlier this month, where he compared the 36-year-old and co-commentator Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West.
ITV criticised the “vindictive remarks”, while sports minister Stuart Andrew told a Culture, Media and Sport select committee that the “dangerous comments open the floodgates for abuse”.
Since last month Barton, who was sacked as Bristol Rovers manager in October, has repeatedly used social media to criticise women working in men’s football. While his comments have been widely condemned, they have fuelled further abuse.
