"Jesus christ" - Joe Marler leads backlash to 'disrespectful' comment aimed at female referees

The ex-Premiers League whistle bllower was asked for his views on female officials in football after Sara Cox became the first woman to referee a Premiership rugby match last weekend.

"It's a big point," Clattenburg told talkSPORT. "We always had a [female] assistant referee in the Premier League, Sian Massey[-Ellis], and we now have a woman refereeing in the Football League, Rebecca Welch, so women are starting to develop in the men's game.

"If you look at Uefa, for example, the French woman refereed the Super Cup final, so Uefa are getting more and more women.

"The problem with women is, and certainly in refereeing in football, they have a difficult pathway if they get pregnant during their refereeing career - it can stop them a long way. So they have to make this choice: do they want to be pregnant or do they want to be referees?"

Marler responded to the views on Twitter, saying: "Jesus Christ - Clattenburg’s response to my question about female referees in football on @talkSPORT this morning was disrespectful and archaic - @SaraCoxRef leading the way with the way the world should be."

Owens said: Some people will be surprised at this one to start off. His misfortune was perhaps to be leading England during a difficult time, but he always gave everything for the cause, encouraging others to follow suit, and he was a nice guy off the pitch."

Owens said: "He was not only a great rugby player but also a great leader and a great man. Whenever I came across him on the field, he impressed me."

Owens said: "He’s right up on any list of rugby’s greatest players.

"Maybe he will be at the top for many people.

"New Zealand won something like nine out of every 10 games in which he led them, but the mark of Richie McCaw was how he conducted himself when the All Blacks lost."

Owens said: "I’m classing this as a joint-ticket as whenever I seemed to ref Ireland in their day O’Driscoll was captain and O’Connell was vice-skipper.

"O’Driscoll actually used to tell me if there were issues with the forwards then I should chat to O’Connell.

I found them excellent to deal with."

Owens said: "My choice as the best skipper I encountered may raise a few eyebrows, but what a captain Dusautoir was. He unfailingly put his body on the line throughout his career — recall the 38 tackles he made when France knocked the All Blacks out of the 2007 World Cup — led by example and understood the game very well."