Gray and Keys suspended by Sky after sexist female jibes

BARRED: Neither Keys, nor Gray will present at the Sky MNF game tonight

RICHARD Keys and Andy Gray have been suspended today by Sky Sports, after being caught making sexist comments about women in football in an off-air sound recording.  The pair left their microphones on in a commercial break during the build-up to Saturday’s Sky lunchtime match at Molineux between Wolves and Liverpool.  They made sexist and offensive female jibes about line official Sian Massey, referee Wendy Toms and West Ham United chief executive Karen Brady. 

Although the public didn’t hear the comments, the recording was leaked to the Mail on Sunday yesterday and their fate was sealed.  Neither apologised or mentioned the incident during yesterday’s televised match at Ewood Park and although they apologised via Sky Sports yesterday, Sky has decided to drop them from presenting the Monday Night Football tonight between Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea.

SEE TRANSCRIPT BELOW OF THE ILL-FATED CONVERSATION

Richard Keys: Well, somebody better get down there and explain offside to her.

Andy Gray: Yeah, I know. Can you believe that?  Female linesman. Forget what I said – they probably don't know the offside rule.

RK: Course they don't.

AG: Why is there a female linesman?  Somebody's f##### up big.

RK: I can guarantee you there'll be a big one today. Kenny [Dalglish, Liverpool's manager] will go potty. This is not the first time. Didn't we have one before?

AG: Yeah.

RK: Wendy Toms.

AG: Wendy Toms, something like that.  She was f###### hopeless as well.

RK: [exasperated groan]

AG: [inaudible]

RK: No, no, it's got to be done, it's good.  The game's gone mad.  See charming Karen Brady this morning complaining about sexism?  Yeah.  Do me a favour, love.

Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis confirmed the suspension in a statement this afternoon.  “I have spoken directly this morning to both Richard Keys and Andy Gray this morning.  It has been made clear to each of them that their comments were totally unacceptable.  They are inexcusable from anyone by Sky, regardless of their role or seniority.  We have dealt with this matter by taking immediate disciplinary action.”

SPOT ON: Sian Massey officiating at the Sunderland v Blackpool game last month 

The female linesman who was at the centre of Keys and Gray’s remarks on women not understanding the offside rule was Sian Massey.  Massey, 25 was running the line at Wolves at the weekend, her second match in the top flight of English football.  Sian went onto embarrass the high-profile Sky presenters in the game, when she got a borderline offside decision spot on and allowed Raul Meireles to play on and set-up Fernando Torres for Liverpool’s first goal in a comfortable 3-0 victory.  She isn’t the first female in the game.  Last year, Amy Fearn took charge successfully of a Championship clash between Coventry City and Nottingham Forest, whilst Wendy Toms, also ridiculed by Keys and Gray has also excelled as a very successful match official in the past.  Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is all for females being in the game.  On his Twitter account, he wrote; “What’s wrong with a woman being an official in a football game?  I’m cool with it.  All that counts is do they get the decisions right.”

Former referee Graham Poll ripped into Richard and Andy in his Daily Mail column today; “Andy Gray and Richard Keys clearly think that they are experts in all matters of football, and you only have to listen to their smug declarations to see that 20 years as Sky Sports ‘kingpins’ has done nothing to help their humility.  As a result, there will be few sympathetic callers.”

They aren’t the first to be caught having an off-mic moment.  Last year, Gordon Brown was caught called Gillian Duffy a ‘bigoted woman’ on a Sky News microphone following a stand-off in Rochdale during his doomed General Election campaign.  Back in April 2004, Ron Atkinson was forced to resign from his role as main commentator on ITV Sport, after being caught by Asian viewers making racist comments about French defender Marcel Desailly following Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final defeat to AS Monaco.

For me, sexism is just as bad as racism in football and I am disgusted with the behaviour of two such well-known presenters, who have led Sky Sports football coverage for the past two decades.  I am pleased to see Sky has taken strict action against Richard Keys and Andy Gray and hopefully, they will have learnt their lesson from this shameful tirade.

Football League Ref: But Is There A Place For Women In The Game?

This blog was first published on February 12th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

This has always a fairly controversial and heated debate and it probably will rage on for years to come, but should women have a place in the game of football. Why not, what’s the harm?

On Tuesday night, referee Tony Bates had to come off through injury, with 20 minutes remaining of the hotly-contested Midlands derby between Coventry City and Nottingham Forest. He was replaced by Amy Fearn, who was the senior assistant. Therefore, Fearn became the first woman to referee a match in the Football League. To her credit and that of the players too, the game, which ended in a 1-0 win for Coventry ended without any controversy.

Traditionally, football has been known as a real men’s game and that women should stay away from this sport. However, statistics are not backing up that fact. Eight years ago, Football overtook Netball as the most popular sport that women participate in, and the success of Arsenal and England ladies in major tournaments of recent years suggests that there is a place for women in the game. Sure, it will never overtook the men and nor should it, but does it deserve more exposure. Yes is my simple answer to that.

Sponsorship deals are of a very low income and although ITV screen the Ladies FA Cup final, only the BBC has shown any broadcasting interest into the woman’s game. I think more needs to be done on a commercial side for women to get a real breakthrough into football.

As for Amy Fearn, she has refereed regularly in the Blue Square Premier of recent years, but is highly confident of someday, referring a match in the Barclays Premier League. With the success of foreign referees abroad, even taking charge of crucial UEFA Europa League and domestic games, then I certainly think that Fearn’s ambition is certainly an achievable goal. There may only be 1,000 women who are registered referees in England, but if Amy Fearn can inspire this statistic, then things may change in the game. It’s not the first time she has made the news either. Back in 2006, then Luton Town manager Mike Newell got into hot water with the FA for a sexist comment about women in football after his side had a penalty turned down against QPR. That day, Fearn was the linesman who turned down the pleas, but it was Newell who was in the wrong and quite rightly, he had to apologise for his comments.

Maybe the game of football doesn’t really want women in it, but I think the game needs them and although men will dominate in the short-term future, it would be nice to see the female side break into the Premiership and above, even if it end up on the referring side.