Karen Carney deletes her Twitter account after receiving barrage of sexist abuse
Former England international Karen Carney has deleted her Twitter account having received a barrage of sexist abuse from social media users following Leeds United’s criticism of her punditry via their official account.
The Premier League club “completely condemned” the abuse on Wednesday, although they have not deleted their post, which was aimed in response to comments Carney made while working as a pundit for Amazon Prime Video during their live coverage of Tuesday's 5-0 victory for Leeds at West Bromwich Albion.
Friends of Carney told Telegraph Sport on Friday that the midfielder, capped 144 times for England, is “OK” despite the abuse.
Former Arsenal, Chelsea and Birmingham City midfielder Carney had said of Marcelo Bielsa’s side: “They outrun everyone, and credit to them. My only concern would be, will they blow up at the end of the season?
“We saw that in the last couple of seasons. I actually think they got promoted because of Covid, in terms of it gave them a bit of respite. I don't know whether they would have got up if they didn't have that break."
Leeds' account reacted quickly on Tuesday night with a tweet appearing to mock her “promoted because of Covid” remark. Many of the subsequent responses were of a sexist nature.
A club spokesperson said on Wednesday: “Leeds United completely condemns any abuse received by Karen Carney on social media following last night’s Premier League game with West Bromwich Albion. Everyone at our club respects Karen greatly for all she has achieved in the game, as well as her work in the media and the charity work she undertakes.”
However, earlier on Wednesday, owner Andrea Radrizzani, had taken responsibility for the Tweet, adding: “I consider that comment [from Carney] completely unnecessary and disrespectful to our club and particularly to the fantastic hard work of our players and coaches who were [outstanding] on the pitch for the last two championship seasons by all stats.”
