An Australian radio host was accused of going back to the ‘70s with his comments on women’s soccer.
An Australian radio presenter has been cut from his station after making remarks about the Australian women’s soccer side, with one minister saying he had taken the country back to the 1970s.
Frmer Triple M host Marty Sheargold sparked outrage during a radio broadcast on Feb. 24 when he likened the Matildas to “Year 10 girls.”
“Now I’m sorry to undermine the whole sport, but that’s what I think of it so you can stick it up your [expletive],” he said.
Sheargold later said he’d rather “hammer a nail through the head of my [expletive] than watch the upcoming women’s Asian Cup.”
“Got any men’s sport?” he said.
Political and Sporting Backlash
The comments triggered a growing chorus of politicians and sportspeople, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“It’s just not funny, it’s offensive,” he said.
Related Stories
“The ‘Tillies are just legends, they performed so well to get to the semis in the World Cup, but even if they didn’t, so what? They were doing their best.”
The leader then went on to describe the role of women in Australian sports, noting the majority of medals won for Australia in the 2024 Paris Olympics were by female athletes.
“The Matildas have been more successful historically than our men’s team,” he said.
The Labor leader also referred to veteran cricketer Ellyse Perry, who he said was the greatest cricketer Australia had produced.
Labor MP Chris Bowen that while Sheargold had made him laugh over the years, his comments were not acceptable.
“This was just way out of line, and it was very 1970s,” he said.
“Women’s sport is real, it’s fantastic to watch.
“He’s made a big mistake here, and he’s paying the consequences, as he should.”
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said he believed in free speech, but also responsibility.
“I think we should look as a society and see that there has been uniform disdain for what has been said and it shows that our society still works and that there are standards that we expect of people,” he said.
“… particularly those that have platforms to be able to express them, to do it responsibly and I think it’s great to see that the whole country has basically said ’mate, you’re out of touch, get out of the way’ and Triple M’s done the right thing and got rid of him.”
Matildas captain Steff Catley also weighed in, acknowledging that while both Sheargold and Triple M had apologised, the comments were “completely unacceptable.”
