what did joey barton say about lionesses

Joey Barton, a former English footballer known for his provocative social media presence, criticized the England women's national football team, the Lionesses, after their Euro 2025 victory. He mocked their penalty shootout win as "embarrassing" and sarcastically dismissed the tournament as the "Nonsense Pottery Trophy," while telling them never to ask for equal pay again.

Key Comments

Barton posted on X (formerly Twitter) on July 27, 2025:

"Well done to the Lioness winning the Nonsense Pottery Trophy. Those penalties were borderline embarrassing again. Don’t ever ask for equal pay again. Youse are miles off it."

He targeted specific players like Beth Mead and Leah Williamson for missed penalties, despite England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton's heroics securing the win over Spain.

Public Backlash

• Critics labeled his remarks "disgusting" and "sexist," accusing him of bitterness over women's football growth, especially given his limited England career (one cap).

• Supporters of Barton argued he highlighted real skill gaps between men's and women's games, tying into his past critiques of female pundits lacking authority on men's football.

• Social media erupted with 8.7M views on his post, 15K likes, but also widespread mockery and calls to ignore his attention-seeking.

Past Context

Barton has a history of controversial takes on women's football. In 2023-2024, he claimed female players and pundits "aren't skilled enough" to discuss the men's game, fueling debates on meritocracy vs. diversity. His Euro 2025 comments revived this, amplified by the Lionesses' historic foreign-trophy win under Sarina Wiegman.

Trending Reactions

As of late July 2025, forums and news outlets framed it as celebrity gossip with serious undertones—haters vs. progress in women's sports. LinkedIn posts called it "archaic," while some fans defended his bluntness on pay equity tied to revenue and quality. Expect ongoing forum buzz into 2026.

TL;DR: Barton's post-win jabs dismissed Lionesses' success and equal pay demands as undeserved, sparking outrage and defenses amid women's football's rise.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.