Des Lynam risks controversy with verdict on female football pundits

D linam has entered the debate about female pundits months on from Joey Barton scathing attacks on women working in men's football the broadcasting great 881 says only those who have actually played at a level should be employed to talk about it day who stepped away from match of the day 25 years ago says there are many excellent female presenters but those offering analysis of the Premier League need to have experienced it in a rare interview for the latest edition of the radio times they said I've got no gripe with female presenters but when you're a pundit and you're offering opinions about the game you have to have played it at the level you are talking about e the men's game in my view former manager Bon who was sacked by League 1 Bristol Rovers in October caused outrage when he claimed on social media that women shouldn't be talking with any kind of authority in the men's game he began criticizing female pundits in December with Ana luo quickly becoming one of his main Targets in a post in January he compared her and fellow pundit Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West at the time the duo were working for ITV on the FA Cup clash between Crystal Palace and Everton later that month Annie revealed she had taken legal action after the alleged online abuse she faced Barton wrote months before come on let's be serious it's a completely different game if you don't accept that we will always see things differently the women's game is thriving fantastic to see I cannot take a thing they say serious in the men's arena in more posts Barton called men who defend the presenters Uno someone who has been castrated his sexist rant continued it is like me talking about knitting or net ball they spoke to the publication ahead of the new Premier League season do the 81-year-old says he never misses the saturday night show he presented for 11 years between 1988 and 1999 and remains a big fan of match of the day and its host Gary liner but said the former football star is not everyone's cup of tea the veteran broadcasting career had spanned more than 40 years in which time he hosted TV coverage of many of the world's biggest sporting events including the World Cup the Olympics and Wimbledon his witty downto Earth presenting style made him a fan favorite and he is associated with many of the show's most memorable moments after three decades at the BBC he made the surprise switch to Rivals it TV in August 1999 agreeing a deal to present their live football coverage including midweek Champions League games at the time he said that he was seeking a new challenge with the BBC not having a portfolio of live football coverage at the time he explained leaving the BBC after 30 years was not an easy decision to make but it was time for a new challenge and it's no secret that live football is what I love best there were suggestions that he had grown frustrated with the BBC's late scheduling of match of the day which had sometimes started at 10: 50 p.m. on Saturday evenings a month before he announced his departure from the show he said the moment you put it past 10 30 p.m. I start fuming however ahead of Euro 2024 he told the Irish independent the real reason he quit was ITV had offered him significantly more money to work for them follow miror celebs on Tik Tok Snapchat Instagram Twitter Facebook YouTube and threads [Music]