The BT Sport presenter Lynsey Hipgrave has been subjected to sexist abuse on social media after criticising Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez’s controversial penalty for Barcelona.
She accused the five-times Ballon d’Or winner of lacking respect after he tapped an 81st-minute penalty to Suárez, who then completed his hat-trick as Barça beat Celta Vigo 6-1 on Sunday.
Hipgrave tweeted her disapproval on Monday, writing: “Think that Messi pen is so disrespectful more I see it. Just let Suárez take the pen if you want to be such a good team-mate.”
Within minutes, she was subjected to a barrage of online abuse and retweeted a selection to show what women “have to put up with” on social media.
One wrote: “We need sandwiches not opinions” and “somewhere there’s a kitchen and it’s missing something.”
Another added: “Why do they let women watch football loooool football has never been about respect.”
Hipgrave tweeted: “Just a very small taster of what we have to put up with. The crime was being a woman and expressing an opinion.”
