5 Times Sexism In Football Made Us Want To Cry

Let’s start on a positive note: High fives to the England Women’s football team for coming third at this year’s World Cup in Canada and well done team USA for winning.

Now let’s address the issue at hand: the continuous examples of sexism in football that make us want to slam our heads onto our desks...

1. That FA Tweet

Yes, this really happened. The Tweet was quickly deleted and the FA’s content director, James Callow, owned up to writing it and sort of apologised, saying he’d write the same for the Men’s team. We're not so sure but we're happy to help out next time, James. Something along the lines of, 'Our #Lionesses are kickass, warrior ninjas and today they have taken on another title - heroes.'

2. Women can’t play on real grass

For some unknown reason, women have to play on astro-turf. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that artificial pitches are ‘the future’ yet every men’s World Cup has been played on grass. I mean, maybe women don’t want to get their kit dirty, or perhaps their heels will get stuck in the mud? Please.

3. Speaking of Sepp Blatter…

The now resigned President of FIFA had his fair share of controversial moments in his career. This comment he made about women’s football kit provokes strenuous eye rolling: ‘Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball… they could, for example, have tighter shorts.’ Wow.

4. Women are paid a pittance, compared to men

So the prize money the USA team received this year for winning was $2m. Last year in Rio, the victorious German male team won $35m. So the women’s prize is approximately 5.7% of the men’s. The gender pay gap is alive and well in sport sadly.

5. The prize-givers were an interesting choice…

FIFA chose the medal bearers to be attractive, young models in tight LBDs. Twitter commentators specualted that they looked as if they’d walked straight off the set of Robert Palmer’s 1985 Addicted to Love video.

Words by: Olivia Blair