Yahoo News Patrice Evra accused of being 'utterly patronising' as he APPLAUDS co-pundit Eni Aluko for her analysis
Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra has been accused of “patronising” England footballer Eni Aluko after he applauded her punditry on air.
Aluko, who has made more than 100 appearances for England, appeared alongside former France captain Evra and former Sweden striker Henrik Larsson as a pundit on ITV ahead of the Costa Rica versus Serbia World Cup clash.
READ MORE: Serbia squeeze past Costa Rica to open with victory
READ MORE: Evra plea to Pogba 'haters'
After she assessed Costa Rica’s defensive and attacking abilities, Evra sounded surprised and complemented her for her “very good” analysis.
He then began applauding his co-pundit, prompting despair from viewers.
After more analysis from Aluko, presenter Jacqui Oatley asked Evra: “Are you going to sit here applauding Eni’s punditry all day?"
LOOOOOOOOL PATRICE EVRA HAS NEVER EVEN CONTEMPLATED TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL TO A GIRL 😭😭 #WorldCuppic.twitter.com/XBqqrtaP2x
— Harry Hesketh (@HashtagHarry__) June 17, 2018
The former Manchester United left back then replied: "This is just amazing, I think we should leave Henri, because she knows about more football than us! I’m really impressed you know."
The remarks sparked a backlash on Twitter from users who accused Evra of being “utterly patronising”.
Why is @Evra surprised that @EniAlu who that has played over 100 times for her county understands football, and has done some basic preparation before going on air? #EverydaySexismpic.twitter.com/6M3tWJmmnk
— Duncan Hart (@pompeydunc) June 17, 2018
Harry Hesketh, an e-sports player, tweeted a clip of the incident alongside the caption: “LOOOOOOOOL PATRICE EVRA HAS NEVER EVEN CONTEMPLATED TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL TO A GIRL”.
Bet Eni Aluko is loving being patronised by Henrik Larsson & Patrice Evra 🙄🙄🙄 who knew the lawyer could string a sentence together about football eh guys? 🙄
— Alli (@Alli_katt67) June 17, 2018
Other viewers pointed out that Aluko, who plays as a forward for Juventus, has a first class honours degree in law.
One Twitter user wrote: “Bet Eni Aluko is loving being patronised by Henrik Larsson & Patrice Evra (…) who knew the lawyer could string a sentence together about football eh guys?”
Patrice Evra isn't at all patronising when he applauds the brilliant @enialu for having done some serious research on the teams and players on which she's commenting. This an example of women having to out-perform men to be considered even close to equal.
— Brian Lawton (@MrBLawton) June 17, 2018
Brian Lawton added: “Patrice Evra isn't at all patronising when he applauds the brilliant @enialu for having done some serious research on the teams and players on which she's commenting. This an example of women having to out-perform men to be considered even close to equal.”
And another said: “How patronising is Patrice Evra? He is so shocked that Eni Aluko, an ex England player, can hold her own in a discussion about football! Tell him to stop applauding every time she speaks”.
