Humphrey slams ‘vile’ Carney abuse

JAKE HUMPHREY has launched a staunch defence of TV pundit Karen Carney and taken aim at the ‘misogynistic’ and ‘vile’ abuse she was subjected to following her comments about Leeds United.

Former England footballer Carney was criticized for her post-match analysis when part of Amazon Prime’s punditry team for their coverage of Leeds’ win over West Brom last week.

A short clip was tweeted out by the club’s official Twitter account and BT Sport presenter Humphrey yesterday slammed the barrage of hurtful comments that followed.

‘Whether it’s Jermaine Jenas, whether it’s Rio Ferdinand, whether it’s Karen, whether it’s any pundit on any sports network, they are literally paid to have an opinion,’ he said on BT Sport.

‘And that’s cool, you don’t have to agree with their opinion and you don’t have to like their opinion. ‘But the whole point of living in a civil society is that we all have opinions, we must disagree, and it causes debate.

‘What’s not cool though is the horrible, misogynistic, sexist and vile abuse that went Karen’s way in the hours after her comments about Leeds. That is not an example of a tolerant society.’

Carney had suggested Leeds earned their top-flight status as a result of last season’s postponement due to coronavirus.

‘I actually think they got promoted because of Covid, in terms of it gave them a bit of respite,’ she said.

Abusive comments from fans who disagreed escalated after the club opted to share the clip of Carney, 33, with their 667,500 followers. Carney has since deleted her Twitter account.