One club has asked WSL Football have to provide footage of Tuesday's Women's League Cup quarter-final and semi-final draw after the process – conducted by TikTok influencer GK Barry and her girlfriend, Portsmouth midfielder Ella Rutherford – has been labelled 'crude and unprofessional' by a number of Women's Super League clubs.
Streamed live on TikTok, Barry was tasked with the job of drawing the balls and Rutherford, whose Portsmouth side had not progressed to this stage, then told viewers which side had been pulled out. But it quickly descended into chaos and, reportedly, there are many unhappy clubs.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Last year’s Women's Super League Cup final was watched by 14,187 supporters at Pride Park, the home ground of Derby County.
Specifically, Tottenham Hotspur have been offered an apology and accepted that Barry's comments regarding Spurs were inappropriate. While pulling out a ball with the club's name on it, GK Barry asked: "What do we think of Tottenham?" – referring to an anti-Spurs chant sometimes sung by fans of Arsenal.
WSL Clubs 'Furious' Over Lack of Professionalism During League Cup Draw
In what was an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, it quickly backfired as it became clear Barry was not up to the job. The influencer kickstarted the draw by making a comment about "lesbians handling balls" before she smacked the bag holding the draw balls against her backside, adding: “Give it a shake, a spank for luck.”
She also finished with an innuendo about Subway's footlong sandwiches. "Even if you're a lesbian, get a footlong." she said.
With an adjudicator present, the former I'm A Celebrity contestant also pulled a ball, which revealed one of the home sides in the first semi-final fixture, out of the bag before mistakenly putting it back in. “Am I allowed to do that? I’ve done it now, it’s too late," she commented, only to pull it out again and say: "Oh I picked up the same ball.”
According to The Telegraph, it has been confirmed that it was the same ball that was pulled out by Barry. In the event that it was a different ball, the entire draw would have been redone.
BBC Sport have also confirmed that one of the clubs involved in the draw has requested to view the footage after being displeased with the process as, at the time of writing, it is not currently available to watch back on social media or WSL Football's YouTube channel.
Fans Displeased with Women's League Cup Draw Process
Fans, expectedly, have deemed the process 'an insult' to women's football, with some even claiming that it's practically unbelievable. "An insult to female footballers of all ages and their clubs," one said, as another added: "This is diabolical. I can’t believe this is even real."
"Genuinely p***** me off. Disrespectful and derogatory to a club with 40+ years of history in the women’s game. Not to mention unprofessional," a third supporter added.
"I don’t think any post of this paints the WSL in a positive light. Appears biased, unprofessional, looking in the bag – and why do the draw in Subway?"
"After seeing this, I think the WSL have to do this draw again. She’s clearly looking in the bag and as for the bag slap and comments it’s just cringe," a fifth fan added, before a final supporter concluded: "Wow.... I heard it was bad but this is so much worse than I imagined."
Details of the Draw
The draw saw reigning champions Chelsea, now managed by Sonia Bompastor, issued a trip to Liverpool while last season’s runners-up Manchester City will travel to the English capital to face West Ham United. The final WSL 2 side in the competition, Crystal Palace, will play host to Arsenal.
Marc Skinner's Manchester United will play at home against Tottenham – and the winners of that quarter-final will lock horns with one of Palace or Arsenal.
Elsewhere, which team reigns supreme in the quarter-final between Liverpool and Chelsea will play the winners of West Ham v City. In terms of when supporters will be able to watch their respective teams in action, the quarter-final matches will be played over the weekend of December 19–21, while the semi-finals will be played on January 21–22.