FA Slammed Over England Team 'Mothers' Tweet

The Football Association has been criticised after its official England Twitter account referred to the national women's team returning from the World Cup to "go back to being mothers, partners and daughters".

The tweet was quickly deleted after critics said it was patronising to the players and that an equivalent message would never have been posted about the England men's side.

Posted on the @england Twitter account, the tweet said: "Our #Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title - heroes."

It come as the bronze medallists in the World Cup returned to the country - with many in action in the Women's Super League as soon as this Saturday.

One response said: "So they've stopped being inspiring, successful footballers now? Massive own-goal from @england there."

Another said: "Do male players return to be fathers and husbands?"

The FA said the message had been "taken out of context".

A spokesperson said: "The full story was a wider homecoming feature attempting to reflect the many personal stories within the playing squad as has been told throughout the course of the tournament.

"However, we understand that an element of the story appears to have been taken out of context and the opening paragraph was subsequently revised to reflect that fact."

The FA has made a point in recent weeks of highlighting its promotion of women's football - it started up the Women's Super League, has added a second tier to the competition and girl's and women's football is the biggest growth area in terms of participation.