Ex-Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton says women in men’s football is a ‘recipe for disaster’

Joey Barton has continued to cause controversy over his views on women in men’s football, writing online that they are a "recipe for disaster".  

In his latest tirade, the former Bristol Rovers manager has claimed that "female staff [send] naked pictures to players" and that it is "dangerous" to have them in men’s football. 

On X, he wrote: "The amount of times in my professional life, I’ve seen women compromise themselves in the men’s game is ridiculous. I’ve actually lost count. 

"Female staff sending naked pictures to players. To having full blown affairs and costing people marriages. You would have had to experience it to believe it. It happens all the time.

"I think it is very dangerous to have Women in certain roles in certain departments in Men’s football because ultimately, as my good friend PK would say, ‘They’re not made of wood lad!’ It’s a recipe for disaster."

Barton's latest comments come after he came under fire earlier in the week for saying "women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game". 

After his initial tweets, Barton appeared on Piers Morgan: Uncensored yesterday evening, where he doubled down on his view that women shouldn’t commentate on men’s football. 

Speaking to Morgan, he said female pundits “can’t be there to fit this woke agenda that we’ve currently got going on in society".

“It ruins the experience for most men and it’s the men’s game," he added.

“If we’re going to talk about the technical nuances of elite level football and want to educate the audience, then we must do that with the most credible people, not people who tick boxes or fill quotas.”    

He added that football personalities such as Mark Chapman and Rory Smith have “earned the right via hard work over a long period to get into that space.” 

Following Barton's comments, he has been panned by female commentators, including Laura Woods, who wrote on X that he should ask the broadcasters for a private conversation and state his case.  

“These tweets only encourage a pile on for the women getting on with their jobs. Or was that the intention?’ she added.