Rangers hit out at ‘homophobic’ comments over women’s game

how much you virtue signal. Ya too slow and ya not going to change that. It’s called biological evolution.’ Last night the Ibrox club were critical of what they described as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘extremely outdated and foul views of women’s football’. A club statement read: ‘Rangers FC has been made aware of discriminatory and misogynistic comments regarding the women’s game following Sunday’s Sky Sports Cup Final. ‘As a club, we stand together against these homophobic and disgraceful slurs in the strongest possible terms. ‘We are unwavering in our desire to further the women’s game across the country which goes from strength to strength, and will support all players in challenging those who hold extremely outdated and foul views of women’s football.’ Scotland captain Rachel Corsie described online criticism of Easdon as ‘horrible’ and ‘bullying’. She told the BBC’s Behind The Goals podcast: ‘We see that a lot now. It’s even more worrying that people feel it’s okay to do it towards younger players. ‘It’s not welcome in sport. To bully and target people is not acceptable. It’s horrible and it’s not warranted.’ Meanwhile, Scotland manager Pedro Martinez Losa believes the game should create a support network that helps players cope with criticism. The Spaniard gave his backing to Scotland youth international Easdon, who combines school studies with part-time football. ‘The problem we have now is we (are) accelerating the progress and the evolution (of women’s football) so there are other people involved, and we can’t control that,’ he said. ‘I just want to show my support, as head coach of the national team, to a player who is playing exceptionally. She has been put in that position, she is dreaming of being a football player, as are many girls. And, by the way, she is playing very well.’ Martinez Losa maintained that, with more focus on the women’s game, club and coaches must prepare players to cope with criticism. ‘For me, it is part of the progress of the visibility of the game. I have seen this kind of scenario before. What we have to do is concentrate on supporting the player. ‘She is doing everything she can, she is a talented player who is playing for the youth national teams and is doing well for Partick Thistle. ‘In my first year at Rayo Vallecano we were a part-time team but we won La Liga and, after that, there was a switch in expectation. We had a player who was studying to be a doctor. From 6am until 4pm she was at the hospital. Then she would train until 7pm, go home, study, not get into bed until around 2am and do it all again. But, when we went to play Champions League, she was heavily criticised. We need mechanisms to protect players. ‘I don’t think it should happen. But the next level will bring all of us to more exposure, more criticism, more opinions. We have to support her and get her to stay focused. We have to work with young players especially to make sure we can protect them. When you play in a final you will be subject to criticism and opinions, but when you are talking about Under-18 players there are lines that should not be crossed.’