Joey Barton hits back at Jeff Stelling in Lionesses row after 'monstrosity' claim

Joey Barton clashed with legendary presenter Jeff Stelling during England's dramatic victory over Sweden in the quarter-finals of the Women's European Championship. The Lionesses found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening 25 minutes and were on course to surrender their Euros crown.

But two late goals from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang rescued the game for Sarina Wiegman's reigning champions and prompted extra-time in Zurich. The contest then went to penalties, where chaos ensued.

Only five of the 14 penalties taken between both sides found the back of the net, with Sweden missing the chance to win it when their goalkeeper - who heroically saved four spot kicks - stepped up and humiliatingly blazed her effort over the bar.

Eventually, strikes for Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Bronze spared England's blushes and booked a semi-final clash with Italy on Sunday. But it wasn't during the error-laden penalty shootout when Barton, 42, took to social media and criticised the quality of the match.

"Is this a knockout game this monstrosity?" the former Premier League midfielder posted on X. Stelling replied by asking: "Bet you haven't turned off though Joey?"

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Barton responded an hour later and wrote: "I did Jeff. That's how bad it was. You can't tell me that’s proper football. It's pure cosplay nonsense… And YOU know it!"

Barton's criticism of women's football - and female punditry - is nothing new, nor is Stelling's backing for the Lionesses. The ex-Sky Sports presenter, who now works for talkSPORT, replied to a number of tweets during the match defending the women's game.

The pair previously worked alongside each other but share opposing views. During a 2024 interview with the Guardian, Stelling discussed Barton's career outside of football and the frequent accusations of sexism, with some theorising that he's only made headline-grabbing claims about women in football to draw attention to his podcast.

Asked if he's followed the Barton furore, Stelling said: "Oh, yes. You can't avoid it, can you? I've worked with Joey a couple of times and I enjoyed his company then.

"But you've absolutely nailed it. Initially, I'm sure this was to gain some traction for the podcast. Unfortunately it's become a monster and totally wrong to say women have no right to talk about football."

Stelling has seen first-hand how badly women can be treated in the football sphere. As a boy, he attended Hartlepool United matches with his sister Sue, who was six years older than him.

"She would honestly be the only woman in the ground," Stelling explained. "There were no toilet facilities for women and it was very foreboding and unwelcoming."

The 70-year-old added: "It was a totally sexist environment. To see a woman at football was a shock and they didn't understand she was just my big sister doing me a massive favour in taking me to the game. I'm so glad that’s changed because you now see so many women and families at football matches."