Eni Aluko deletes Twitter account after getting 'racist, sexist, and misogynistic' abuse for Declan Rice comments
Former women's footballer turned pundit Eni Aluko recently deactivated her Twitter account after getting abused for her comments on Declan Rice.
Aluko shared her take on the transfer tug-of-war between Arsenal and Manchester City for Rice. However, she was abused by fans across Twitter for her comments. Aluko has since decided to deactivate her Twitter account.
Aluko initially said that she was disrespected by fans for her take. She also cited a lack of apology from the fans as something that affected her. Speaking about the abuse she received online, Aluko said (via Daily Star):
"Safe to say I suspected Rice wasn't going up the M6 to Manchester! I've had a lot of laughs on this today. It was very quiet from the pile-on brigade – somehow a lot of haters went missing. Apologies are much quieter than disrespect. Disagreement is part of the job. But disagreement should never be used by people to be sexist, racist, misogynistic to women in football."
She added:
"It's an absolute disgrace and I won't ignore it for the benefit of a lot of men who project their own jealousy and insecurity spouting abuse. Women in football are not going away. Get used to it."
Aluko continued:
"We know our stuff. We speak from a place of professional insight and experience. Take it or leave it, agree, disagree but if you choose sexism, racism, misogyny to disagree, you ARE the problem and you're exposing yourself."
She concluded:
"If you spend your time attacking women in football, you are exposing the fact you can NEVER be at the same level. You're entitled to opinion, don't abuse it to be racist, sexist and misogynistic."
What did Eni Aluko say about Declan Rice's transfer?
Arsenal and Manchester City were both interested in Declan Rice. However, the Gunners have agreed on a £100 million plus £5 million add-ons deal after City pulled out of the race for Rice.
Aluko shared a controversial take on the Declan Rice saga. She banked on her previous experience of working as a sporting director and told Simon Jordan (via Daily Star):
“There’s a lot of cat and mouse here. As a sporting director, I used to do this a lot. I used to call up a club, [a] big club, and say 'Right, can you put a bid in', and that would get my owner to basically put a higher bid in. It’s a bit like an auction, isn't it. I don’t think that Manchester City actually want to sign Declan Rice."
She further added:
"I think what is going on here is that Arteta has picked up the phone to Pep and said, ‘Arsenal are going to do the incremental bid approach. If you put a higher bid in, that will push my owner’. I think there’s a bit of that going on here.”
Her opinion stirred fans on digital media. Rice, meanwhile, looks set for a move from West Ham to Arsenal soon. He could become a key player for the north London club in the coming years.