Jason Cundy: women's voices are too high for football commentary

A former Chelsea footballer has claimed that women are unsuited to commentate on football matches because their voices are too high.

Jason Cundy said moments of drama in big games require a lower tone of voice. He was talking about Vicki Sparks, a BBC journalist who became the first woman to commentate live on a televised World Cup match in the UK, for the Portugal vs Morocco game last Wednesday.

Cundy, a presenter for Talksport radio and Chelsea TV, said: “Listen, it’s nothing to do with her insight, the way she delivers, or her knowledge, or her ability to do the job. It’s the voice.

“I prefer to hear a male voice when watching football - 90 minutes of hearing a high-pitched tone isn’t really what I would like to hear, and when there is a moment of drama as there often is in football, that moment actually needs to be done with a slightly lower voice.”

He added: “I consume a lot of football… as a point of preference, what I prefer to listen to when I’m watching a football match is a male commentator.” Cundy likened it to music tastes, saying: “It’s like, would you rather listen to Ed Sheeran or Celine Dion? We all have a choice.”

Cundy was speaking on Good Morning Britain to Piers Morgan, who branded him “ridiculous” and a “sexist pig”. 

Jacqui Oatley, who is part of ITV's World Cup team, also criticised Cundy's views.

John Terry, the former England player, posted on social media last week that he was “having to watch the game with no volume”. He later deleted the post and clarified that he was not passing judgment on the commentary, but had returned from holiday to find that the sound on his television was not working.

Sparks regularly commentates for BBC Radio 5 Live and was at the centre of a storm last year when David Moyes, the Sunderland manager, told her that her interview questions had been “a wee bit naughty at the end there so just watch yourself. You still might get a slap, even though you’re a woman.” Moyes was fined £30,000 by the FA.

Both the BBC and ITV are striving to give women more prominent roles in their World Cup coverage.

ITV have Eniola Aluko, a former England international, among their pundits. However, when she appeared on a panel alongside Patrice Evra and Henrik Larsson, Evra was accused of patronising Aluko by applauding one of her comments.

“This is just amazing!” Evra said of Aluko’s insights on the Serbia vs Costa Rica game. “I think we should leave, Henrik, because she knows about more football than us! I’m really impressed, you know.”

Aluko had anticipated that she might have to work hard to be taken seriously, saying in an interview before the tournament: “I think it gets massively forgotten with women commentators and pundits that we grew up watching men’s football.

“To be going to Russia to work on a men’s World Cup is incredible. There’s a tendency for some male pundits who have done it for years to rock up and take it for granted. I can’t afford to do that so that’s why I have to geek out on all the stats and facts and make sure I am not seen as a token woman, but that I’m adding to the conversation.”