Published 16:06 IST, December 31st 2020
USWNT star Megan Rapinoe gets involved in Karen Carney-Leeds United controversy
USWNT star Megan Rapinoe recently took to Twitter and slammed Leeds United’s official Twitter account for mocking football pundit Karen Carney.
The United States Women's National Football Team star Megan Rapinoe recently took to Twitter and slammed Leeds United’s official Twitter account for mocking football pundit Karen Carney after the club’s dominant victory at West Brom. In the tweet, which has been liked more than 50,000 times, Megan Rapinoe has shown her support to Carney, calling her a “national treasure”. The rest of the post read, “Shame. Shame. Shame. Thicken up that skin y’all. Don’t come for Karen Carney”.
Karen Carney vs Leeds United: Leeds’ controversial tweet
Before Leeds defeated West Brom by 5-0 on Tuesday in the Premier League and moved up to the eleventh spot on the points table, Carney had claimed that Marcelo Bielsa’s side benefited from the coronavirus break in March and were promoted back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years. "I actually think they got promoted because of COVID in terms of it giving them a bit of respite. I don't know if they'd have got up if they didn't have that break," said the former Lionesses star.
Karen Carney vs Leeds United: Carney receives criticism
After the match, Leeds United posted Karen Carney’s video on their Twitter page, reacting to her comments. "Promoted because of COVID" and "Won the league by 10 points," read the caption. Carney received criticism from a number of fans, including former Leeds captain Rio Ferdinand, who “agrees” with Leeds that they won the Sky Bet Championship by 10 points. However, he also asked the club to delete the tweet, which is still making waves.
Leeds United Twitter: Leeds gets criticised
The viral video received more than 6,000 comments on Twitter, with some of them being offensive and sexist. Some commentators in the game have criticised the club’s account accusing it of encouraging “a pile-on” targeting the ex-Blues winger. Chelsea’s Beth England and the ‘Women in Football’ group has also slammed the club for being “inappropriate” and setting Carney up for “online abuse”.
“Whether you agree with the comment or not, singling out & ridiculing an individual on an official club account is not what we’re here for. Karen Carney is a well-informed pundit. This tweet is inciteful & inappropriate,” shared Women in Football group.
Image Source: AP, Karen Carney/ Instagram
Updated 16:06 IST, December 31st 2020