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Eni Aluko claims ‘men’s football in this country is not safe for women’ online and in stadiums

Eni Aluko claims ‘men’s football in this country is not safe for women’ online and in stadiums when speaking on a podcast recently.

Eni Aluko painted a bleak picture of the environment in men’s football and expressed her belief that the sport in this country is ‘not a secure space for women’.

She highlighted safety issues, both in physical stadiums and on social media platforms but also raised concerns about the impact this could have on the younger generation of girls who have developed an interest in football due to the success of the Lionesses.

Aluko has been subjected to a barrage of online abuse, particularly from Joey Barton, who has been known to make sexist remarks directed at various female former players, pundits, and commentators involved in the coverage and analysis of men’s football in recent times.

‘I say it all the time,’ Aluko started to say on The Sports Agents podcast. ‘Men’s football in this country is still not a safe place for women. 

‘Whether you’re the wife of an average football fan who loves football or you’re me who works in professional broadcasting, it’s not a safe space. It’s not a safe space physically going to a stadium and it’s not a safe space on online. 

‘So when we look at the next generation of young girls who are alive to football because of the Lionesses and who likely want to get into football, whether they play or work behind the scenes.

‘What would make them want to do that when there’s daily casual racism, sexism, misogyny toward the women at the top.

‘I just refuse to now to sit back and go “Oh, it’s part of the job,” I can’t do that anymore. For me, I’m talking to government, how are we going to create laws so that this is not so easy.’

It comes just months after she slammed Twitter for ‘allowing people to vomit their hatred unchecked’ after she was verbally attacked by Joey Barton, who called her and Lucy Ward ‘the Fred and Rose West of football commentary’ in a reference to the two infamous serial killers – with Alex Scott and Lioness Mary Earps also being targeted in his posts.

He also alleged that Aluko and her family used ‘dodgy money’ to pay for a lavish lifestyle, but Aluko has since received support from ITV – a broadcaster she’s a regular pundit on – and she revealed she’s taken legal action against Barton, and also claimed she left the country due to being ‘genuinely scared’ for her safety following his comments. Ex-keeper Paddy Kenny mocked her over this.

‘It’s scary how easy it is on social media to just attack women,’ she added. ‘Misogyny is not even a hate crime at this moment in time but there’s so much online.

‘Unfortunately football is a sort of access point for a lot of that. I think it’s the last bastion of what people consider to be a male only space.

‘It has been for a long time a space where men have been able to express themselves freely without the gaze of women and all of this stuff.

‘The reality is that football has always been for everyone and now women are becoming much more part of it but I feel the backlash is getting worse.’

“Recently, Joey Barton has been attacking lots of female pundits in football,” she said, speaking in March 2024 at the Women In Football Be Inspired Conference in partnership with Barclays.

“He specifically targeted me with over 11 tweets and was attacking my ability to do my job and saying that I’m a tick box hire whilst likening me to some of the worst serial killers in history.

“He has a lot of followers so then a lot of people pile on and it becomes an ‘incitement of hatred’ which causes real life harm because I don’t feel safe.

“So I’ve been speaking about how we make sure there is a framework in place to deal with sexism and misogyny and has real life impact on people.

“If I was subject to physical abuse everyday of my life then I would call the police and they would arrest that person, but that doesn’t happen with digital abuse which actually has the same harm.

“We need to close the gap to create consequences for that behaviour.”

Aluko had been invited to be a speaker on a panel entitled ‘The Uncomfortable Truth About Misogyny in the Game’ at the Women In Football Be Inspired Conference in partnership with Barclays.

She opened up about the intersectionality of the abuse aimed at her as a black woman in football.

“There’s issues about being a woman and then there’s issues about being black and the two often go hand in hand,” she said.

“I think the frameworks around racism have developed more than they have around sexism and misogyny.

“If you are racist in a football stadium in 2024, the likelihood of you getting a lifetime ban is very high with self policing from fans.

“The same now needs to be done for sexism and misogyny in football to make progress.”

This is how social media users reacted as Eni Aluko claims ‘men’s football in this country is not safe for women’ online and in stadiums…

@Lea_EFC: Eni Aluko needs to stop talking. Nobody takes her seriously. She only opens her mouth to try and stay relevant.

@HalTheBlade: I’ll let my Mum know, she’s been going to football since the 60’s, she’ll be gutted it’s been unsafe all this time despite nothing ever happening to her or any woman she knows.

@AllEnglandFlags: Sorry but this is utter horse shit. The only reason she feels it isn’t safe is because she’s been proven to be bad at her job. Women like Courtney Sweetman-Kirk& Abigail Davies prove her completely and utterly wrong.

@hlbsafc1989: I have never felt unsafe at Stadium, ever. Eni Aluko really needs to take some time away from football, for a very long time

@hithisiswes: With all due respect, shut the fuck up Eni Aluko. And I’m not being rude because you’re a woman, it’s because you’re chatting utter, utter bollocks. Your victim card doesn’t play here. The three generations of female fans I attend with weekly agree.

@skonklord: In my 50 years of supporting Liverpool, I’ve never heard one female say it’s not safe at all. I’m not saying some don’t feel safe but on a whole, this is bollocks

@Mittly5: I have been going to watch preston north end since the late 80s to late 90s. No issue at all in the stadiums. No issue whatsoever

@clarko66: Loads of women sit by me, never once seen any of them in danger, do one

@Valvenus1: Never heard so much rubbish in my life , not only is she useless at punditry she’s now disrespecting all the women and girls that go to games every weekend up and down the country, personally I turn over until the game starts if she’s covering the live game, #talksbollocks💤

@dikko17: Hmm unsafe in stadiums physically seems odd… specially when you can select where your seating etc (family/more hardcore fans/etc etc. She’s not doing herself any favours with that comment

@1280sue: What utter rubbish, I’ve been going to stadia around the country and abroad since the late 70s and still do. And have loved every minute, would I stop going because I’m female. No Way.

@Laws_ellen24601: This is utter nonsense. I am a woman and as a season ticket holder, I got to every game by myself; European away games by myself. Never felt unsafe. People aren’t interested in me, we’re all there for the football. I prefer to go alone and get lost in my little football day.

@banglajoy72: I am all for women in the game and in punditry/commentary. I think they have been a breath of fresh air. But I think the push to get more women in these positions has lacked some quality control. There are many that need a bit more media training and support.

@DarthBrooks__: I see women at the football every weekend, they all see pretty safe to me.

@Jack_James26: This is why certain women shouldn’t be given a platform.

@_charlielc_: I go to every home game with my kids too and I’ve never felt unsafe. Actually the opposite I feel part of a team/family who are all there for each other 💙🤍

@Kay8615: I worked in a stadium from 17 to 20 years old, never felt unsafe, until I got outside on some game days and the police forced me to walk back roads to get home!

@likkleciteh:
54 year old woman
Been watching football since I was a kid
Never felt unsafe in a football ground because I’m a woman

@TheMitchJenkins: as someone who has been to both mens and womens football games (a few at Upton Park and a womens game at Amex Stadium), Aluko is literally talking out of her ass. I brought the Mrs along to a Womens Euro game and at no point did she not feel safe…

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