As part of the event, Ledley King said: “Our Club stands firmly against all forms of violence towards women and girls. To tackle this issue, we must first recognise it starts with men, so football has a huge role to play in this. As a signatory of the Mayor of London’s Women’s Night Safety Charter, we send the clear message that our stadium is a safe space for women and girls – who can feel safe in approaching us to receive assistance if they feel threatened, with our staff extensively trained.”
The club approved these messages. It has proudly boasted about signing up to the Mayor of London’s Women & Girls Night Safety Charter. It routinely boasts that it was one of the first clubs to set up a supporters’ association for women —Women of the Lane — who have made their feelings about the De Zerbi appointment very clear. Earlier this month, it hosted them at the stadium for international women's day. Now, it's looking to hire someone who has publicly defended a rapist.
Hiring De Zerbi would show this up for what it is. Performative nonsense that the club only believes in when it suits them. What a fucking disappointment.
by ReindeerWooden5115
3 Comments
How does hiring someone who has never been accused of or convicted of violence against women spit in the face of all of this?
I expect that the club was avowedly anti-racist when it decided that Jonathan Woodgate’s defensive skills outweighed his participation in a racially-aggravated assault. Nothing new here, football is as seedy and hypocritical and greedy as any other part of the entertainment industry.
We have fallen, and are falling still.