Brendan Rodgers condemned as ‘dinosaur’ for sexist comment to female reporter

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been labelled a “dinosaur” after making a sexist comment towards a female reporter at the end of a post-match interview.

Rodgers was speaking to BBC Scotland’s Jane Lewis after Celtic’s dramatic 3-1 Scottish Premiership comeback win at Motherwell.

In his answer which began the tense exchange, Rodgers said: “To get the win was important for us, psychologically, and for our football. It was another game to convince that when we play how we can play then the goals and creativity will be there. So I’m delighted for the players because like I’ve said, there’s a story been written about this group, so we will write our own story.”

He was irked when Lewis asked him to explain what he meant by “the story has already been written”. Asked to elaborate, Rodgers responded: “No, no, you know exactly what I mean.”

When Lewis asked again, Rodgers ended the interview, saying: “Are we done? Good girl, well done.”

The experienced Lewis was unfazed, but a spokesperson for the Scottish Feminist Network said: “Jane Lewis was just doing her job, trying to extract an explanation from Brendan Rodgers on his cryptic comment. That the go-to attitude was condescension is quite illuminating, but really very depressing in 2024.

“We thought dinosaurs were extinct.”

Lewis regularly reports on football, presenting Scottish Women’s Premier League coverage on the BBC and appearing on the Scottish Football Podcast.

For Women Scotland called on Rodgers to apologise to Lewis, saying: “It’s depressing that casual sexism is still embedded in sport. Women’s achievements are underrated and dismissed, and their professional status undermined. Rodgers owes the reporter an apology.”

It is not Rodgers’ first run-in with BBC Scotland. On his return to Celtic last summer, the manager was unveiled to the media at a press conference, but BBC Scotland reporters were banned from the event following a critical article.

At the time, BBC Scotland said in a statement: “We’re sorry that Celtic did not allow us to access today’s media event. We are in discussions with the club in an effort to resolve the situation. BBC Scotland has asked Celtic for comment on the decision to deny the BBC access to the media conference and is awaiting a response.”

Rodgers kept his composure in his post-match press conference as he praised his players for dealing with the pressure after coming from behind to snatch a last-gasp win at Fir Park.

Motherwell deservedly led at half-time through Blair Spittal’s impressive goal but substitute Adam Idah quickly headed Celtic level after the break. Celtic forced Motherwell back in the final quarter of the game and the pressure told four minutes into stoppage time when Idah stabbed home Alistair Johnston’s pass. Luis Palma quickly added another to seal a 3-1 victory which cut the gap at the top of the table back to two points.

Rangers had moved five in front with a 5-0 win over Hearts on Saturday and Celtic faced a big challenge at half-time after dropping four points in their previous three league matches.

Rodgers admitted there was an anxiety in his side’s first-half passing but he added: “It was more the football and the performance, we were arriving into areas too early which gave players less options on the ball, that meant the passes were longer and they were looking into depth too much.

“Sometimes that happens in the game, so at half-time it was just about staying calm, reinforce the good bits of the game, but actually where we needed to adapt in order to connect the game. That is what this team is about. It’s about running and connecting the game fast, lots of passes, getting it out to the sides, making runs in behind, getting crosses into the box from half space wide areas.

“Technically, we needed to make some adjustments, but all at the same time, stay calm. Stay calm, because it’s one goal in it and I know this team and I know this club. The players were magnificent second half, I’ve got to say, under the pressure of being behind. They dealt with it really well.”