Joey Barton makes controversial claims women’s football will always be ‘inferior’ and goals must be smaller

The Fleetwood manager believes the sport needs changes to improve the quality

Joey Barton has expressed strong views on how to change the game (PA)

Joey Barton has expressed controversial comments on women’s football by insisting the sport will always be “inferior” unless serious changes are made.

The Fleetwood manager has claimed “it is a different sport, in essence”, while outlining his vision to improve it.

Barton is not alone either, with Chelsea manager Emma Hayes calling for smaller goals, though he has gone further when debating the game’s current state.

“It’s a different sport though really, in essence – women’s football should be adjusted for women, physiologically, biologically,” Barton said on the Football, Feminism & Everything in Between.

“The goal sizes and the weight of the ball should be [changed].

Joey Barton believes goals should be smaller (PA)

“If we’re going to make women’s football better, as a spectator sport, to stand on its own in the marketplace, if you keep playing on the same size of pitches as men with the same size of football as men and men’s rules, you’re always going to have an inferior product – because men are bigger, stronger and faster than women.

“If you tailor it, women’s football could take a lot of strides tactically and technically – way beyond its current limitations.

“Let’s be realistic about it. The size of a football for men is a size five, say we moved the size of a women’s football down to a size four, would anybody really notice the difference?

“No, but I guarantee you in terms of the physicality and the output, level of passes and the range of passes players some of the women players would then be able to do because the ball’s a bit smaller and the ball’s more suited to their physiological state.”