The English Football Association has been accused of sexism after posting a picture of the national women’s team, the Lionesses, before their game with Australia along with the caption “scrub up well, don’t they?”
The official Lionesses account tweeted the picture of the team before their 1-1 draw with the Australians at Craven Cottage in London on Tuesday.
The accompanying caption has drawn scorn from social media users, with some asking whether the FA was making a “kitchen joke” and others questioning what the team’s appearance had to do with football.
Others said that the caption would not have accompanied a picture of the men’s team, and questioned whether the team’s Twitter account was run by a man.
Others dismissed the criticism as confected outrage, claiming there was nothing sexist in the phrase.
In the game itself, Phil Neville's team were held to a draw when Clare Polkinghorne’s late goal cancelled out Fran Kirby’s first-half opener.