Ryan Babel Makes Sexist Remarks Toward Woman on Twitter
Al Ain forward Ryan Babel has come under criticism for the way in which he addressed a female Twitter user Friday night.
First came this tweet from Babel about his former manager at Liverpool, Rafael Benitez:
"— Ryan Babel (@Ryanbabel) August 28, 2015"
Upon being questioned about why he retained any ill will toward Benitez, Babel responded with the following tweet: "i think u should concentrate on growing some t--- instead of speaking about football... Ur a girl.. Stay in ur lane." You can view the tweet here. (Warning: Link contains NSFW language.)
The 28-year-old then offered a defense of himself:
"I'm not saying i cant be a football fan as a girl or woman... Ofcourse u can duhh... Im just saying that " I " am NOT gonna argue with u 1/2
— Ryan Babel (@Ryanbabel) August 28, 2015"
"About football....!!!
— Ryan Babel (@Ryanbabel) August 28, 2015"
In a subsequent tweet, Babel included his phone number, offering anybody the chance to discuss the situation personally. Miriti Murungi and Kevin Brown of Soccer Gods attempted to take the former Liverpool star up on his offer, to no avail:
Babel played at Liverpool under Benitez from 2007 until Benitez's departure in June 2010. This isn't the first time the Dutchman has criticized his former boss on social media. In a tweet he sent out May 28, Babel said Benitez "will make Ronaldo a great defender" upon taking over at Real Madrid.
In an interview with Melissa Reddy of the Independent back in April, Babel explained that he fell out with Benitez over the way the Spaniard interacted with him on the training ground:
"In Holland, you can step into the manager's office and ask him for clarity if you don't know why you're not playing and they are open with you. But I had a feeling Benitez didn't like that. I would ask him, very politely, 'What do I need to do differently? I feel I have been training well, but I'm not getting chances.'
His kind of response would be, 'Just shut up and work hard', but I wanted to know what his definition of 'work hard' was. One time, he did say 'defend more', so I practised that. I still wasn't playing and then he told me other players were offering more going forward. So I was confused. First one thing, then the other.
"
After reading that, you can understand why Babel might hold Benitez in a negative light.
And offering a succinct version of that same reasoning would've worked a lot better for him Friday night instead of belittling one of his female followers.
