Complaint
In this programme, the former football professional Alex Scott commented on the lack of diversity at elite level, arguing it failed to reflect the game or society. 聽A viewer complained this was inaccurate and misleading, as non-white players were not under-represented in the England鈥檚 women鈥檚 football squad, compared to the ethnic minority percentage in the country as a whole.聽 聽
Outcome
The presenter identified numerous factors she considered important for the women鈥檚 game to thrive, and highlighted an apparent lack of diversity in women鈥檚 football in England. 聽The ECU noted Ms Scott is far from alone in considering diversity to be an integral factor in the future of the sport. 聽The issue has been raised by, among others, former England players, the FA, Football Beyond Borders, and the Professional Footballers鈥 Association. 聽The PFA launched its See It, Achieve It campaign on 1 July 2022 to address what it regards as a lack of diversity. 聽There was, therefore, a clear editorial justification for looking at the issue of representation across the sport, not just at Women鈥檚 Super League and international level. 聽One of the contributors spoke about how she thought the lack of black players in the England team had a negative impact on the number of girls and younger women coming into the sport because of the importance of identifiable role models. 聽The lack of diversity at the national team level is also supported by evidence. 聽Data gathered by The Athletic shows the number of non-white players in the England squad is now at 13%, down from 28.6% in 2007. 聽In the context of the programme, Ms Scott鈥檚 comments therefore met the 主播大秀鈥檚 requirements for due accuracy. 聽The ECU noted the complainant鈥檚 comparison between the percentage of 鈥渘on white鈥 players in the England squad and 鈥渢he ethnic minority percentage in the country鈥 but felt there was little to be learned from such a comparison. A more meaningful statistic would be a comparison with the number of non-white players in the men鈥檚 game.
Not Upheld