Women's World Cup Article Mocked For Saying Playing Football Isn't 'A Woman's Place'

World Cup Article Mocked For Saying Football Isn't 'A Woman's Place'

The Mirror has been mocked for publishing an article about the Women's World Cup that said: "A woman's place is not on a foreign field playing second-rate football."

Women In Football, an organisation promoting women who work in the sport, tweeted to mock the paper after the England team scored two goals against Canada in the first 15 minutes of their quarter-final meeting.

The Lionesses went on to beat the hosts 2-1 and progress to the semi-finals for the first time in their history. The men's team have not reached that far in their world cup since 1990.

The article, printed in Saturday's paper ahaead of the game, said: "The World Cup has shown that the women's football really isn't that good - whoever could have predicted that?"

It added: "A woman's place is not on a foreign field playing second-rate football - that's Gareth Bale's job. A woman's place is in the wrong.

"Yet the BBC, in an era when the licence fee was under threat, was happy to shell out in the region in the region of £8.99 for TV wrongs."

Prominent women in journalism, including Sky News' Sophy Ridge and columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer, decried the article, with Hartley-Brewer asking: "Are you sure that was written in THIS century, not the 18th?"

Others attacked the article's "sexist tropes".

The article added: "England meet Canada tonight, so that's my weekend sorted - I'm going out.

"I'm happy to bet on two flies crawling up a wall but I've refused to bet on women's football. Women already cost me enough."

The article does not appear to have been published online. On Twitter, people speculated it was written by Derek McGovern, the paper's resident betting tipster.

Someone suggested people should not attack the paper itself, as it the author's opinion piece, not an editorial.

The Mirror had not responded to a request for comment as this article went live.

Women's World Cup: England Squad
Karen Bardsley(01 of23)
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Positon: Goalkeeper
Club: Manchester City
Caps: 43
Age: 30
Fast Fact: Bardsley was born and raised in California but qualifies for the England squad through family connections to Stockport.
(credit:Richard Heathcote via Getty Images)
Carly Telford(02 of23)
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Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Notts County
Caps: 5
Age: 27
Fast Fact: When she was at Leeds, Telford was named player of the match in the 2008 FA Cup final, even though Leeds lost 4-1 to Arsenal.
(credit:Jon Buckle - The FA via Getty Images)
Siobhan Chamberlain(03 of23)
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Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Arsenal
Age: 31
Fast Fact: Chamberlain has the same surname as Arsenal men's player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the same birthday.
(credit:David Price via Getty Images)
Lucy Bronze(04 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Manchester City
Caps: 16
Age: 23
Fast Fact: Bronze signed from Liverpool in November but missed the first three matches of City's season after undergoing knee surgery. She's said it was a "big relief" to make the squad after the set back.
(credit:GEOFF ROBINS via Getty Images)
Laura Bassett(05 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Notts County
Caps: 49
Age: 31
Fast Fact: According to the BBC, when she's not playing footie, Bassett tests her teammates knowledge as the squad's quiz master.
(credit:Matt Lewis - The FA via Getty Images)
Alex Scott(06 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Arsenal
Caps: 123
Age: 30
Fast Fact: Scott discovered her love of music while she was recovering from an injury and now picks the tunes the ladies listen to in the dressing room.
(credit:Ben Hoskins - The FA via Getty Images)
Alex Greenwood (07 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Notts County
Caps: 12
Age: 21
Fast Fact: Despite being a Liverpool supporter, Greenwood joined Everton when she was just eight years old. She ended her 13 year association with the team when she joined Notts County last January.
(credit:Jon Buckle - The FA via Getty Images)
Steph Houghton(08 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Manchester City
Caps: 53
Age: 27
Fast Fact: Despite playing in defence, Houghton scored in all three of team GB's group matches in the 2012 Olympics.
(credit:Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images)
Claire Rafferty(09 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Chelsea
Caps: 9
Age: 26
Fast Fact: When she's not playing football, Rafferty is an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
(credit:Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images)
Katie Chapman(10 of23)
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Position: Midfielder
Club: Chelsea
Caps: 85
Age: 32
Fast Fact: Chapman is one of only two mothers on the England team. She has three children: Harvey, 12, Riley, six and baby Zachary.
(credit:GEOFF ROBINS via Getty Images)
Casey Stoney (11 of23)
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Position: Defender
Club: Arsenal
Caps: 118
Age: 32
Fast Fact: Alongside training, Stoney and her partner (former Lincoln Ladies player Megan Harris) have been busy caring caring for their six-month-old twins, Teddy and Tilly.
(credit:Ben Hoskins - The FA via Getty Images)
Jade Moore(12 of23)
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Position: Midfielder
Club: Birmingham City
Caps: 16
Age: 24
Fast Fact: When Moore was 18 she won a Football Association scholarship to train at Loughborough University. Once there, a routine screening revealed she had two holes in her heart but she was soon back playing after corrective surgery.
(credit:Clint Hughes - The FA via Getty Images)
Jordan Nobbs(13 of23)
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Position: Midfielder
Club: Arsenal
Caps: 21
Age: 22
Fast Fact: Nobbs is the daughter of former Hartlepool player Keith Nobbs.
(credit:Matt Lewis - The FA via Getty Images)
Jo Potter (14 of23)
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Position: Midfielder
Club: Birmingham City
Caps: 19
Age: 30
Fast Fact: Potter's recall to the England squad comes after a seven-year absence.
(credit:Nick Taylor - The FA via Getty Images)
Jill Scott(15 of23)
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Position: Midfielder
Club: Manchester City
Caps: 90
Age: 28
Fast Fact: She's no stranger to silverware, having been on the teams that won the Women’s FA Cup in 2010 and the League Cup in 2008.
(credit:Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images)
Fara Williams(16 of23)
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Position: Midfielder
Club: Liverpool
Caps: 139
Age: 31
Fast Fact: Williams has more caps under her belt than any other player in the team.
(credit:Tom Dulat - The FA via Getty Images)
Eniola Aluko(17 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Chelsea
Caps: 90
Age: 28
Fast Fact: Qualified lawyer Aluko will be writing a regular column for the BBC throughout the World Cup.
(credit:Tom Dulat - The FA via Getty Images)
Karen Carney (18 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Birmingham City
Caps: 103
Age: 27
Fast Fact: Earlier this year, Carney said suffering from depression almost made her give up football. But, she said, wanting to be a good role model to her niece got her back in the game.
(credit:Christopher Lee - The FA via Getty Images)
Toni Duggan(19 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Manchester City
Caps: 25
Age: 23
Fast Fact: Duggan scored the Women's Super League's goal of the season in 2014 against Chelsea.
(credit:Dave Thompson - The FA via Getty Images)
Fran Kirby(20 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Reading
Caps: 8
Age: 21
Fast Fact: Kirby returned to football last season following a four year absence after her mother's death. She's said she's determined to make her late mother proud in the World Cup.
(credit:Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images)
Lianne Sanderson(21 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Arsenal
Caps: 46
Age: 27
Fast Fact: Sanderson is something of a globe-trotter having played for clubs in the US, Spain and Cyprus.
(credit:Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images)
Ellen White (22 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Notts County
Caps: 50
Age: 25
Fast Fact: White is back on top form after having damaged a cruciate ligament in her knee during a pre-season friendly against Durham last year.
(credit:Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images)
Jodie Taylor (23 of23)
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Position: Forward
Club: Portland Thorns
Caps: 8
Age: 28
Fast Fact: She may have began her career with local team Tranmere Rovers, but Taylor has since played for major clubs in the US, Canada and Australia.
(credit:Dave Thompson - The FA via Getty Images)