Football commentator forced to delete Twitter account after barrage of abuse
Former English player-turned-pundit Karen Carney has been forced to delete her Twitter account after a barrage of abuse from Leeds supporters following a comment she made last season.
Carney, a 144-cap England international, commented on Leeds' attacking style during an analysis of their 5-0 win over West Brom and commented that she thought the COVID-19 hiatus during the premier league season had helped Leeds excel.
Karen Carney England celebrates victory after 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. NurPhoto via Getty Images
She insinuated that the COVID break gave the team who had seemingly ran out of gas, a chance to rest and rejuvenate.
Leeds club shared a clip of the comments with the caption: "Promoted because of COVID" and "Won the league by 10 points."
This led to a barrage of abusive comments from fans online, with Carney's friend telling The Guardian that majority of the comments were sexist and they were seemingly getting worse and worse.
Karen Carney commentating for BT Sport before the Barclays FA Women's Super League match. Visionhaus
Former Leeds player Rio Ferdinand urged the club to delete the tweet, but it remains on the club's Twitter page, although they did say in a statement that they don't condone the abuse Carney was inundated with.
"Leeds United completely condemns any abuse received by Karen Carney on social media following last night's Premier League game," the statement read.
"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."
