'Dinosaur' - Celtic's former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers blasted for calling female reporter 'good girl'

An irate Rodgers shared his thoughts with the BBC's Jane Lewis after Celtic's last-gasp win over Motherwell on Sunday. The win put the Hoops within two points of rivals Rangers at the top of the table, but Rodgers responded to that title talk by saying "the story has already been written about this group, but we will write our own story”. When pressed by Lewis to explain that remark, the Celtic boss replied sharply "You know exactly what I mean".

Further questions by the journalist were met with an annoyed "No, no, no" from Rodgers before he promptly shut down the interview, cutting Lewis off by saying: "Okay, done. Good girl. Well done, cheers.”

Following Rodgers' outdated remark, two women's groups have come out to criticise the former Liverpool and Leicester boss.

Scottish Feminist Network said in a statement: “Jane Lewis was just doing her job today, trying to extract an explanation from Brendan Rodgers on his cryptic comment. That the go-to attitude of a manager of a winning team was condescension is quite illuminating but really very depressing in 2024. We thought dinosaurs were extinct.”

For Women Scotland urged Rodgers echoed those thoughts, stating: “It’s depressing that casual sexism is still embedded in sport. Women’s achievements are underrated and dismissed, and their professional status undermined. Rodgers owes the reporter an apology.”

Rodgers' comments, while wholly inexcusable, reflect the high-pressure situation he finds himself in at Celtic. The Hoops were minutes away from slipping to a shock defeat to ninth-placed Motherwell before Adam Idah and Luis Palma rescued all three points in stoppage time. That 3-1 win means Celtic are now two points off arch-rivals Rangers, who are looking to end their two-year wait without a league trophy, and win only their second SPL title in 13 years.

Rodgers isn't the only manager in recent times to be called out for sexist comments. Gordon Strachan told a female reporter in 2009 that she wouldn't understand his Celtic side's shock cup defeat to St Mirren, saying "it would be like you explaining childbirth to me". Current West Ham boss David Moyes risked being sacked from his role as Sunderland manager in 2017 by warning a female reporter: "You still might get a slap, even though you're a woman".

While football's attempts at diversification are improving and efforts to support the women's game continue to strengthen, there is clearly still work to be done to avoid such condescending comments to female members of the media. It remains to be seen how Rodgers will be punished for his actions.