Mansplaining

The women’s euros football has been brilliant. the skill and tactics, the atmosphere at the grounds, the purposeful, businesslike nature of the games - tough no-nonsense refereeing, and fewer tantrums. The one extreme case of a dive, feigning a serious foul, stood out remarkably because it was such an exception. And yes, it’s been a delight to have an English team which is clearly able and well-organised. They enjoy what they’re doing, have the freedom to try stuff that’s occasionally risky, and somehow Sarina Weigman has discovered the knack of making everyone in the squad feel valued. A pleasure to watch.

And then along comes a bloke to spoil it. I’d been very happy with the women commentators and women pundits, but I gather that out there in the shadows blokes have been muttering that we need a male commentator, and somebody’s decided to let Jonathan Pearce cover Germany v. France. What a disaster. He’s much more interested in the factsheets he’s accumulated than in what’s actually happening on the pitch, and feels obliged to involve Lucy Ward, his co-commentator, in ludicrous spin-off chats about “the team of the tournament” or the player of the match. He thinks it’s one, she doesn’t agree, so he gets upset - “We’re supposed to be working together…there is no I in team.” It’s totally pathetic, and the only negative feature in a brilliant, absorbing game. God knows who makes these decisions, but if he’s doing the final I’m turning the sound off.