Fans stunned at Bianca Westwood’s age as she reveals she went to her first football game before Joey Barton was born
FANS have been left stunned after finding out Bianca Westwood's age.
The popular sports reporter has this week blasted Joey Barton over his sexist comments suggesting that women are not qualified to talk about men's football.
Bianca has been a trailblazer for women in sports media and has built up a massive following through her years of working in football.
She had been a star reporter for Sky Sports from matches up and down the English football leagues since 2000, but left the broadcaster earlier this year.
She has since joined up with talkSPORT and is reporting from around the grounds on matchdays.
In response to Barton's shameful comments, Bianca insisted that she should be more than qualified to speak about football.
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Bianca revealed that she has been watching football for 40 years and that the first visit she made to see her beloved West Ham was before the former Newcastle and QPR midfielder was "even born".
She wrote: "Who is qualified to speak on football then? I’ve been watching football for 40 years, my first game at West Ham was before Joey was even born.
"I’ve been watching hours and hours of football.
"I worked behind the scenes at Sky for 10 years before I was even given a shot on camera, watching my male colleagues who maybe weren’t as good as I was, getting chances I was never given."
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Bianca, who dated world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in her mid-20s, also revealed in an Instagram post earlier this year that she was 49 years old, and fans could not believe her age.
One fan said: "You certainly don’t look 49. You look bloody amazing."
A second commented: "You could pass for mid-late 30s easy."
A third wrote: "You don’t even look 40 never mind nearly 50."
Another added: "There is no way you're nearly 50."
Bianca continued her response to the retired footballer, who actually turned 41 in September, as she claimed that he actually had a problem with "particular pundits"
She added: “I don’t really understand what we need to know, how long we need to work behind the scenes before we are allowed on camera. To be a pundit, the laws are the same.
"Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman can both read the game, are you saying they can’t offer an insight?
"Sounds like to me that Joey has a problem with particular pundits who haven’t done enough in the game, but how does he know? And how do we quantify that?
"There’s EFL players who are commentating, co-commentating on Champions League games.
"So what level - as far as Joey Barton is concerned - do you have to get before you can be an expert on the ‘men’s game’?"
Barton's comments have received a huge backlash after the former Bristol Rovers boss said he does not think women pundits should be allowed to comment on the men's game.
Barton tweeted: "Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious.
"It’s a completely different game.
"If you don’t accept that. We will always see things differently.
"The women’s game is thriving. Fantastic to see.
"I cannot take a thing they say serious in the men’s arena."
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He further tried to goad Bianca and Laura Woods, who has also slammed his comments, today by writing: "Both of you follow me. And not the other way around. So, Why the silence?
"Do you both have something to hide?"