Ahead of UCL’s return, two commentators teamed up with Heineken to show that gender-based bias affects women more.
Gary Neville received a barrage of sexist insults after taking control of social media channels Jill Scott legend of the England women’s team and member of the Order of the British Empire. This secret experiment, called Social Exchange, aimed to highlight the problem of prejudice women face in football because of their gender.
In association with HeinekenNeville and Scott swapped accounts for five days at the end of last season.
The results showed that online women’s football is a much more toxic experience and that the cause of this toxicity lies not so much in what is said, but in who says it.
With 161 appearances, Scott is the second player to have worn the England women’s team jersey most often. He has been capped for his country more times than any of his male counterparts and is a respected figure in the sporting world and in the UK, where he is extremely popular.
However, his account, managed by Neville, was received five times more sexist responses then this one. The examples below are just a small selection of these responses. In contrast, Neville’s channel, run by Scott, did not receive any comments of this nature.
Heineken
Scott said: “While things have changed, there is no doubt that female fans, commentators and female players are still the subject of far more negativity online than men, due to gender-based bias. You end up developing some kind of armor, but it shouldn’t be that way.
“It’s likely that the experiment has made a few people blush, so let’s hope it reminds us that these prejudices need to be eradicated from the world of football. “Everyone, regardless of gender, has the right to be a fan of a sport, and it is time to remember that.”
Heineken
Neville, who spent his entire professional career at Manchester United until his retirement in 2011, knows well what it’s like to be criticized. However, the Heineken experiment opened her eyes to the unwarranted insults that female fans receive on the Internet.
“Heated debates and rivalries between fans are what make football so exciting,” Neville said. Another thing is very different when negative comments are related to gender, especially if they are sent by someone hidden behind a screen.
“By putting myself in Jill’s shoes and seeing the reactions, I was able to experience firsthand the ugliest side of this sport that I love so much. I want to make it clear that football is accessible to everyone.”
“We must treat each other with respect, both on the pitch and online, regardless of gender, race, sexuality or the color of the shirt we wear.”
After starting Fresher football To give equal exposure to the men’s and women’s editions of the UEFA Champions League in 2022, Heineken is now launching Social Exchange with the aim of eradicating gender-related bias.
Heineken
“Heineken wants to be the most inclusive sponsor in the football world. In this sense, Social Exchange not only demonstrates the unfair imbalance that exists within the culture of fans of this sport, but also the importance of red-carding gender-based bias and toxicity on the Internet,” said Nabil. Nasser, global director of the Heineken brand.
Heineken is offering free access to Arwen, an AI-based online moderation tool, which allows fans to hide unwanted or offensive comments or spam to eliminate negativity on their social networks. This tool can be tested here.
Nasser added that the partnership with Arwen will allow Heineken to “deploy AI technology to help fans eliminate negativity, making this new season all about football.”
On the pitch, Barcelona and Wolfsburg played out an exciting final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) in the Netherlands, in which The Spanish champions came back from two goals down to win 3-2.
The preliminary rounds of a new edition of the competition are currently being played, with the group stage starting in mid-November. We don’t have to wait that long for the group stage of the men’s tournament, the UEFA Champions League, which starts on Tuesday, September 19.
Source: Goal