‘Get Back in the Kitchen’: What Happened When Jill Scott and Gary Neville Swap Social Media Accounts | Soccer

Soccer

The two former England internationals exchanged their X accounts for five days without telling anyone. The results were predictable

Thu Sep 14, 2023 3:00am EDT

It would be easy to assume that Jill Scott’s life is simple these days. The former England midfielder hung up her boots last year with a Euro 2022 winner’s medal in her pocket, and a few months later was voted queen of the jungle on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.

Scott’s brilliant playing career culminated in a surge of public affection following England’s first victory in a major tournament since 1966. But even today, as a highly decorated and widely celebrated former player, life in the public eye has its challenges.

Some of Scott’s recent experiences are a reminder of how much remains to be done before gender discrimination is eradicated from football and society at large. Hard to believe, perhaps, but the 36-year-old former Manchester City midfielder almost turned down her media job last season due to the level of abuse regularly directed at her on social media.

“I was asked to do the Italy v England match [the men’s Euro 2024 qualifier in March] and I lingered there for about five days,” Scott says. “I thought, ‘I’m going to take so many insults before I even put this microphone to my mouth.’

“But it was one of the best days of my life. Working with Steven Gerrard, who I’ve admired as a midfielder for years… Harry Kane broke the [goalscoring] record, and I was able to interview him. I had a great day and was so close to saying no.

Scott sits alongside Gary Neville, the former Manchester United and England full-back, now a leading pundit after his trophy-laden career on the pitch. Neville won everything at club level under Sir Alex Ferguson, although the closest he came to a major international trophy was England’s Euro 96 semi-final defeat by Germany.

Neville and Scott teamed up to take part in The Social Swap, a Heineken campaign aimed at highlighting the issue of gender bias on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In April, they exchanged accounts for five days, continuing to share their opinions on football as they usually would. Unbeknownst to Twitter users, during this short period of time, a message addressed to Neville was actually intended for Scott, and vice versa. The results were as enlightening as they were disturbing, and Neville, like Scott, was incredulous at the level of ignorance displayed.

“I saw some of the responses that came to Jill, which were my tweets,” Neville says. “’Go back to the kitchen’, ‘Stick to the game you know, my love’, this kind of condescending and ignorant tweet… there is no doubt that in football, women who have an opinion on men’s football are made basically saying to go back to the kitchen.their box.

The issue of equality for women’s sport has been close to Neville’s heart since childhood. “When I go back to my life with my family, my mother was banned from playing football for the boys’ team in the 70s,” Neville explains. “It made the local headlines because the FA banned him from playing football.”

With two daughters aged 13 and 14 who are passionate about football, Neville is even more focused on fighting for equality. Not just when it comes to playing soccer, but simply when it comes to women talking about a game that some, judging by the often distorted environment of social media, view as an exclusively masculine. Heineken, as part of its campaign, has partnered with Arwen, an AI-powered online moderation tool that allows users to filter negative elements from their social media feeds.

“They watch Salford and Manchester United every week with me,” Neville says of his daughters. “My youngest probably knows more about the Salford/United players than I do. The idea that they can’t have an opinion on football without their gender being mentioned is ridiculous.”

Does Scott think the Lionesses’ triumph has changed perceptions and that the situation for women in football is improving? “I think there’s been a big change,” she says. “But we had to do the unthinkable just to get some respect for women’s football. Fortunately, we did it [win the Euros]. But I think this campaign highlights that there are still a lot of trolls.

Neville points out that social media posts may be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of overall attitudes. “I think the concern comes from the silent majority who don’t tweet, if that attitude is ingrained in society,” he says. “We definitely need to make sure we continue to take on challenges and talk about them. Because the reality is that this attitude must be lost forever. I think we have an opportunity with young people to change these kinds of generational attitudes.

Scott, asked for an example of sexism experienced early in his footballing life, recalls a painful story, even if it now carries a hint of revenge. “I don’t want to tell a sad story, but I remember my first day of high school, which was intimidating anyway,” Scott says. “A lot of people knew I played football. A boy said: “You can’t play football, you’re a girl.” » And I defended myself and pursued him. He tripped me and I ended up in the hospital with a broken elbow. When I think about things like that, it’s just because I played football. I saw him in the pub recently and he came to tell me well done for winning the Euro… I almost broke his elbow.

Scott and Neville both laugh, but the underlying point is serious. “There are times like that where I think it was difficult and, unknowingly, from a very young age I started to develop my resilience to that,” Scott says. “Sometimes with resilience we think we just have to take things and accept the feedback. But I think now if girls go to school and a boy says, “Women’s football is crap,” they’ll say, “Well, we won the Euros.” They have a bit of fighting talk behind them.

In the battle for equality, the positive example set by former leading men’s players such as Neville is significant. With pioneers like Scott also continuing to pave the way for aspiring female players – not to mention pundits and commentators – things are moving in the right direction.

Recalling the invitation to cover the England match in Naples which she almost turned down, Scott said: “I want young girls to think, ‘Yeah, it’s good to do that’, and that’s it. is the norm. It’s certainly about the next generation not going through these anxious times.