WSL chiefs were forced into an embarrassing apology to Tottenham after an influencer’s anti-Spurs dig during a Women’s League Cup draw live on TikTok.
The design of the draw was meant to showcase the competition to a younger, online audience.
But it descended into farce on Tuesday night as social media star GK Barry, who boasts more than four million followers, unleashed a series of jokes, blunders and eyebrow-raising remarks while pulling the quarter-final and semi-final ties.
Barry, hosting alongside her partner Ella Rutherford of Portsmouth, opened proceedings with a crude one-liner before spanking the velvet ball bag against her backside, telling viewers: “Give it a shake, a spank for luck.”
But the chaos didn’t stop there.
At one point, Barry pulled out a ball, then inexplicably put it straight back in the bag before drawing it again.
The number belonged to Tottenham. Looking into the camera, she nervously asked whether she was even allowed to do that before shrugging: “I’ve done it now, it’s too late.”
The Athletic is is reporting that an adjudicator was present and verified the same ball had been redrawn, otherwise the whole thing would have had to be restarted.
But the real flashpoint came when Barry turned to Rutherford and asked: “What do we think of Tottenham?”
An unmistakable nod to a well-known anti-Spurs chant sung by Arsenal fans.
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That line, the Athletic say, triggered an immediate complaint from Tottenham, who have since received a direct apology from WSL Football acknowledging the remark was “not appropriate”.
Clips of the fiasco have spread across social media after the WSL, perhaps wisely, opted not to upload the livestream to its official channels.
Barry continued to poke fun at several clubs, asking what colour kits Liverpool and Chelsea wear and questioning how good various teams are.
She ended the show with another innuendo involving sponsor Subway.
When fans begged for on-screen graphics to follow what was happening, Barry quipped she needed a “bigger budget”.
The decision to bring in Barry was part of a push to court new audiences on TikTok, but the fallout has left league bosses red-faced.
On the footballing front, holders Chelsea will face a tough trip to Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
Manchester City head to West Ham, Manchester United host Spurs, and Arsenal welcome Crystal Palace, the sole WSL 2 side left standing.
In the semis, the Liverpool vs Chelsea winners will meet either City or West Ham, while United or Spurs will face the victors of Arsenal vs Palace.
But it’s the draw itself, not the fixtures, that fans won’t forget in a hurry.