England women’s boss Neville under fire

LONDON: Phil Neville’s coaching credentials as well as some apparently sexist tweets saw him facing increasing criticism on Wednesday following his appointment as the new coach of the England women’s team.

No sooner had Neville been named to his new post on Tuesday then old messages from his Twitter handle @fizzer18 re-appeared. They included a post from 2012 that said: “U women of (sic) always wanted equality until it comes to paying the bills #hypocrites”.

In another that same year, the former Manchester United, Everton and England defender tweeted: “Morning men couple of hours cricket be4 (before) work sets me up nicely for the day.”

Asked why he had only referred to men in his message, a reply on Neville’s account said: “When I said morning men I thought the women would of been busy preparing breakfast/getting kids ready/making the beds-sorry morning women!” Neville has also faced flak for a lack of previous experience coaching in the women’s game, although he has enjoyed brief stints in the backroom staffs of United, England men’s Under-21s and Spanish club Valencia.

The Women’s Sports Trust questioned his credentials, adding: “We are also saddened by Phil Neville’s historical tweets and the lack of comment about this from the FA. “In the age of MeToo and TimesUp (campaigns against sexual harassment), all individuals and organisations must be more aware of past sexist behaviour and respond to it appropriately.” The WST also highlighted concerns over how England’s governing Football Association had come to select Neville as successor to Mark Sampson, who was sacked in September over allegations of misconduct in a previous role and amid a racism row that led to widespread criticism of senior FA officials.