Joey Barton has made a series of striking claims about former Lionesses star Alex Scott amid their ongoing row about women working in men’s football. The ex-Premier League midfielder’s latest social media tirade comes after Scott delivered a pointed message addressing his views live on the BBC.
According to a series of social media posts over the past week, Barton believes that women should not be allowed to ‘talk with authority’ about men’s football because the women’s game is ‘completely different’.
Although Scott, who amassed 140 caps during her distinguished England career, did not mention Barton by name, her message to the BBC cameras after Arsenal’s 4-1 Women’s Super League win over Chelsea on Sunday was telling.
“Just before we say goodbye,” she began. “To all the women in football, in front of the camera and behind it, the players on the pitch and everyone that attends games, keep being the role models that you continue to be. To all those young girls that are told ‘No, you can’t’, football is a better place with us all in it. Goodbye.”
Barton responded to the clip on Monday afternoon, insisting that Scott ‘does not have a clue’ about men’s football and claiming that she was a ‘worse than a Sunday League player’. “Sorry Alex Scott,” he posted on X.
“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.
Barton, who had stints at Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers before retiring in 2017, continued in a separate social media post showing that he had sent Scott a private message which read: “I don’t want to have a row.”
The 41-year-old wrote above the picture: “I like Alex. I think she’s a great role model. A brilliant player in the women’s game. The men’s game is different. Debate me. Let’s discuss. I’m a bad guy. I get it. But I want to do good. Have a great Christmas.”
