Ramblings of a Lad

Stotfold FC are a sizeable football club with a fairly rich history. They play in the 7th tier of English football, which, while it sounds low, is nothing to be sneered at.

On the 12th of August, I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw a transfer announcement. A totally standard post, announcing the transfer of Ana Maria Markovic to Braga. I opened up the comments section, as I always have a peruse of the comments on 90% of posts I read. One comment in particular caught my eye.

One of the top comments on the post talked about Markovic’s appearance – with the commenter also referencing another female footballer who has had a lot of issues being objectified in the past. I will not name this footballer out of respect: as realistically, she doesn’t need to be dragged into this.

Naturally, my first reaction was “cor, what a weapon” and I clicked straight onto his profile. I was absolutely astounded when I saw, proudly stated in the very top of his bio, “Football Coach @stotfoldfcwomen”.

To be honest, I’m even lost for words typing it right now. A 27 year old man is a coach for a women’s football team, has the team tagged on his account, and is going around objectifying female footballers?

My first thought was to private message the account tagged in his bio.

“Good morning, is there any chance I could speak to someone regarding one of the coaches for your team?”

Shortly after writing and sending the message, I realised that private messaging the social media account representing them likely wasn’t the best move. So, I moved to their club website, where I found contact details for Rob Parkin: the chairman of the club.

“Hi Rob, I hope this message finds you well. I was browsing social media today and saw a signing announcement for a female footballer. In the comments, one of your coaches made a comment about her relationship status, and compared her appearance with that of another female footballer – one whom has has many issues with people objectifying her in the past.

This didn’t sit right with me, especially as he has it listed in his bio that he is a coach for the women’s team.

I wanted to notify you of this, as not only do I feel it is not a good look for the club, I feel that the players themselves would be highly uncomfortable should they know that these comments are being made.

The people representing your club need to be careful of what they say publicly, especially when it is clear to see they have attached themselves to your organisation.

I do have screenshots of the comment and user profile, should you want to see them.

Thanks, *name*”.

So, I sent that off. It has now been four months, and I am yet to hear back from anyone regarding the matter.

After a few days, my message on instagram appeared as “seen”, and was left unread. This didn’t bother me, as I knew that I had initially gone through the wrong channels to report the issue. What does bother me, however, is that I have now been blocked by the Stotfold FC Women’s account.

Of course, I am also bothered that I haven’t received so much as an acknowledgement from the chairman of the club about it.

Four months on, this person is still listed as a coach on their website, and Rob Parkin is still listed as club chairman on the “club contacts” page.

I find it deeply concerning that a club of Stotfold’s reputation do not take this matter seriously. Not only to not take any action, but also to block people on social media and to ignore communication through the correct means.

I also maintain the belief that the players for Stotfold FC women would feel very uncomfortable knowing that one of their coaches is on social media objectifying and analysing female player’s appearances.

I feel that I gave the club plenty of time to at least address the issue, and I am not satisfied with the outcome. Because of this, (while I have not named the coach), I feel the need to make this public information – so that anyone who wants to know, will know. Because realistically, they should know.

As a women’s football coach, and a potential husband and father, I find it unbelievable that he would feel that this is acceptable behaviour. Even more so that the club feel the same, and are willing to tolerate this.

Women’s football faces a lot of struggles. Discrimination, sexism, you name it. They have to work through it all just to play the beautiful game. Unfortunately, even as women’s football grows in popularity and stature, there are still plenty of people who try to rain on the parade.

Female footballers should be able to relax and enjoy their football in an environment that is safe and free of judgement or discrimination of any sort. As shown here, I do not feel that Stotfold is a place in which that is possible. The women of Stotfold and of course, beyond, deserve better. And they most certainly deserve to know the true character of their coaches.