BIANCA WESTWOOD has opened up in regards to the abuse she has confronted as a feminine soccer reporter.
The Sky Sports activities legend spent 22 years on Soccer Saturday earlier than leaving on the finish of final season.
Bianca Westwood has opened up in regards to the abuse she suffered throughout his professionCredit score: Rex
The reporter stop Sky Sports activities after 22 yearsCredit score: INSTAGRAM @biancawestwood
Westwood was a trailblazer for ladies in soccer, being the one non-male reporter on screens in 2012 after initially working behind-the-scenes.
The 49-year-old grew to become a followers’ favorite however has needed to battle a barrage of abuse and criticism over time.
Westwood has lifted the lid on the difficulties she confronted as she labored her manner up.
The West Ham fan revealed she was initially not given an opportunity to current on Sky Sports activities as they already had Clare Tomlinson on display and “one lady was sufficient.”
Westwood finally bought a chance however nothing ready her for the hate she would obtain, telling The Mirror: “I clearly knew the sport in and out.
“I’d been watching it since I used to be six-years-old however then for some cause there was this backlash on-line to having a feminine match reporter.
“This was simply when Twitter was beginning to take off – I used to be actually unprepared for that, I used to be unprepared for that focus and for the vitriol, fairly actually.
“It was actually brutal, it was actually harsh, and it was fixed. So it form of set me again fairly a bit as a result of I’d begin overthinking it and I wished every thing to be word-perfect.
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“Chris Kamara made a profession principally out of lacking who bought despatched off, which was hilarious and sensible and humorous, but when I made a slight error then it was like being thrown to the wolves.
“What actually used to harass me wasn’t folks telling me I used to be ugly or I should have been sleeping with the producer or I used to be previous or I wore an excessive amount of make-up or not sufficient, none of that basically bothered me.
“It was when males had been saying: ‘You realize nothing about soccer’.
“That used to actually p*** me off as a result of it was like ‘I’ve been watching this most likely since earlier than you had been born’.”
Westwood helped pave the way in which for the likes of Michelle Owen, who’s now going across the grounds for Soccer Saturday.
After leaving Sky, she has since landed a job as a presenter on talkSPORT and host of Jeff Stelling’s stay UK tour in 2024.