Women in football used to misogyny, says Chelsea manager Emma Hayes

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says misogyny and bullying are issues that women are "routinely used to dealing with" in football.

Hayes was speaking after former player Joey Barton criticised women working in the men's game, saying they weren't qualified to offer opinions on it.

"Male privilege has been something that’s always been at the centre of football in this country," Hayes told a press conference.

"You only have to see scores of women across the internet or in the business – whether you’re a presenter, you’re a coach or a player – to realise we’re routinely used to dealing with systemic misogyny, bullying and behaviour that has been pretty normal for a large part of the football public."

Hayes, who has been Chelsea manager for 11 years and masterminded six Women’s Super League titles, has also worked as a television pundit across the men’s and women’s games.

She said: "I think when it comes to the sport of football in this case, we have to remember that society isn’t always as well represented across the media or across the game in coaching or playing etc.

"If you haven’t experienced systemic misogyny, like lots of us have, you can’t for one moment understand how detrimental some of these conversations are, knowing that anything anyone says just enables an absolute pile-on, particularly on social media."