The Women's Super League has issued a formal apology after a decision to enlist social media influencer GK Barry to conduct the Women's League Cup draw spectacularly backfired, creating a storm of criticism and online fury.
Chaos Erupts During TikTok Live Stream
The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the competition, sponsored by Subway, was broadcast live on TikTok at 6pm on Tuesday. It was hoped that GK Barry, whose real name is Grace Keeling and who boasts over 4.1 million TikTok followers, would attract a new audience. However, the event quickly descended into chaos.
Streamed without on-screen graphics, the draw became difficult to follow. The 26-year-old, who appeared on last year's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, was tasked with drawing balls from a bag while her partner, Portsmouth player Ella Rutherford, read out team names.
X-Rated Jokes and Unprofessional Conduct
GK Barry's attempts at humour were widely condemned as unprofessional and crude. She began by hitting the bag of balls against her backside, stating, "What I'm going to do is give it a shake and a spank for luck, bit of fun."
She proceeded to make a joke about "lesbians handling balls" and concluded the stream with a sexual innuendo about the competition's sponsor, Subway, saying, "Even if you're a lesbian, get a footlong."
Demonstrating a lack of basic football knowledge, she admitted, "I don't know what that means!" when told a team was drawn away, and later asked what colours Chelsea and Liverpool play in.
Tottenham Gaffe and Viral Backlash
The most serious incident involved Tottenham Hotspur. GK Barry recited the anti-Spurs chant "what do we think of Tottenham?" before drawing the club's ball and then immediately putting it back into the bag.
"Am I allowed to do that? I've done it now, it's too late. Oh I picked up the same ball," she said. It is understood an off-screen adjudicator confirmed the same ball was selected, preventing the need for a re-draw. Tottenham have since received an apology from the league.
Clips of the chaotic draw went viral on social media, prompting an outcry from women's football fans. One fan called the decision "an insult to female footballers of all ages and their clubs," while another questioned, "How can you even call that a draw when she's looking in the bag?"
GK Barry has not publicly commented but hinted at awareness of the backlash by posting a meme on her Instagram story. The Women's Super League has been left to manage the fallout from an event intended to promote the game that instead caused widespread offence.
