Woman football agent in sex row
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The only female football agent in England, who was banned from a players' dinner because she was a woman, took her sex discrimination campaign to the House of Lords yesterday.
Rachel Anderson, a Fifa-licensed agent, was refused entry to the "men only" Professional Footballers Association annual award dinner in April. Yesterday, she took her fight to Westminster in an attempt to force an amendment of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Her campaign took the form of a petition, known as a "prayer to Parliament", read out to the House of Lords.
Mrs Anderson, who has 27 clients, including Julian Dicks of West Ham, said she felt confident her prayer would convince peers that the act needed amending. "Common sense will prevail, I hope," she said.
Mrs Anderson, 40, was invited to the dinner by Mr Dicks and was furious to be told it was a "men only" affair by Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association.
Her campaign has been backed by Tony Banks, the sports minister, and Graham Kelly, chairman of the Football Association, who both boycotted the dinner.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments