Authorities apologise to Tottenham as cup draw descends into chaos
The Women’s Super League have apologised to Tottenham after the draw for the Women’s League Cup quarter-final was marred by several crude comments.
Martha Thomas signed a new contract at Tottenham in the summer and made the difference as Tottenham beat Bristol City 1-0 on Sunday, earning them a place in the next round of the League Cup.
Martin Ho‘s side have enjoyed a strong start to the season, and sit fifth in the Women’s Super League (WSL), level on points with North London rivals Arsenal.
Tottenham drew 0-0 with Arsenal in their last WSL clash, with Drew Spence key to a strong defensive performance.
It has felt like a season of positives at Brisbane Road, with Tottenham announcing a club-record deal to sign promising talent Signe Gaupset on Saturday.
Women’s League Cup draw sparks embarrassing scenes
Television personality and influencer GK Barry and her partner, Portsmouth midfielder Ella Rutherford, were tasked with completing the draw for the Women’s League Cup quarter-finals.
The video was posted on TikTok and has drawn criticism for several comments made by the 26-year-old.
| Women’s League Cup draw |
| Liverpool vs Chelsea |
| West Ham vs Manchester City |
| Manchester United vs Tottenham |
| Crystal Palace vs Arsenal |
The draw appeared to have an unprofessional feeling to it right off the bat, when Barry picked out ball number two for Chelsea and said, “I don’t know what that means”, when told that the Blues had been drawn away.
One ball would be picked out by the former I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here star before being placed back in the bag and out again, with the moment prompting one WSL club to have requested the original footage for integrity purposes, according to The Times.
When the ball representing Tottenham was drawn, handing them a quarter-final clash away at Manchester United, Barry said: “What do we think of Tottenham?” A reference to the Arsenal chant that is responded to with an expletive.
WSL Football has since apologised to Tottenham for the comment, accepting it was inappropriate.
Cup draw shambles follows ‘Halo’ disaster
The decision to hand the draw to a social media influencer was taken to attract a young audience of women to football.
The same thinking was behind Sky Sports’ experimental TikTok channel, Halo, which was abandoned after just three days.
The channel, which included a video of Erling Haaland, captioned “how the matcha + hot girl walk combo hits,” was branded sexist and demeaning, with Sky Sports admitting that they “didn’t get it right”.
Lessons must be learned from repeated incidents that seem only to ostracise female football fans, rather than include them.
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