Indian footballer, Sandesh Jhingan, has been facing a barrage of criticism from fans for a sexist comment he made after his club drew an Indian Super League (ISL) match.
When leaving the game, in a video shoot, he said: "I have played a match with women" – implying that women players are inferior.
He apologised a day later after the comparison drew a backlash, but rival fans flooded his Instagram page with anger and abuse - a lot of which, ironically, was sexist in nature and some aimed at his wife.
Following his club’s - ATK Mohun Bagan - 2-2 with Kerala Blasters on Saturday night, Jhingan, who is also the vice-captain of the Indian football team, was caught on camera saying; "I have played a match with women". The 11-second video was uploaded to the club’s Instagram page before it was deleted, before a version of it began circulating online.
On Sunday he tweeted that the comment was made "in the heat of the moment" and denied that it was directed at the Kerala Blasters - who he had played for from 2014 to 2020. The club had retired his number 21 jersey as a tribute to his contribution.
In his apology, Jhingan said: "What you hear is an argument I had with my teammate after the game. What I said was a result of the disappointment for not winning the game. I told my teammate not to make excuses, so anyone taking my comment differently is only doing it to tarnish my name."
Angry Kerala Blasters fans refused to accept the explanation – with some insisting that Jhingan was wrong to make the comparison, while others argued that their players were insulted by being compared with women. Many of them have left abusive comments on his Instagram page.
Some fans, though, have supported him, saying too much was being made of a throwaway comment. There was no official reaction from the clubs or ISL management.
Attitudes towards women in sport have been slowly changing in India - especially after their performance at the recent Olympics - but several still face prejudice and structural barriers. Women footballers in India have publicly spoken about the challenges of playing the sport.
In 2019, footballer Dalima Chhibber recalled seeing sexist comments under a photo of her and a teammate after the national team won their fifth South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup.
On the news website Scroll.in she said: "I read a few comments that said, 'What will they do when they come back? They will just return home and manage the household chores… Another guy commented, go back and start cooking food for your family and stuff like that."
