Rishi Sunak has described a row over women in football punditry as “completely ridiculous” and said he would love it if one his daughters wanted to be a commentator.
The Prime Minister said the profession should be “open to everybody” after comments made by former sportsman Joey Barton were widely condemned as misogynistic.
Barton has previously compared broadcasters Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward with serial killers Fred and Rose West and insisted “women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game”.
Aluko has said the abuse she suffered as a result of his social media posts had left her frightened to leave home.
Asked on a visit to Hampshire about attitudes towards women working in football punditry, the Prime Minister said: “I listen to all sorts of conversations and they’re all great. It shouldn’t really matter, quite frankly.
“I mean, what we care about is the quality of the commentating and … I don’t get to watch or listen to as much football as I’d like … but obviously, that’s completely ridiculous.
“I have two young girls and I’d love it if one of them wanted to be a football commentator when they grew up but I sadly think that it’s unlikely to happen. I’ve failed to get them into it and support Saints the way I do, but there you go. But yeah, of course it should be open to everybody.”
It comes after sports minister Stuart Andrew condemned Barton’s “dangerous” comments and said he will take the issue up with social media platforms.
“These are comments that open the floodgates for abuse and that’s not acceptable,” he told Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport select committee last week.
ITV has described Barton’s comments as “vindictive”.
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