Concerns Over Women’s League Cup Draw Conducted by Influencer

GK Barry has made an appearance on the ITV reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’

Recently, significant concerns have been raised regarding the professionalism and legitimacy of the Women’s League Cup quarter-final and semi-final draw, which was conducted by social media influencer GK Barry. One of the clubs involved has formally requested WSL Football to provide footage of the draw, which is currently unavailable on social media or the WSL Football YouTube channel.

The draw was conducted live on WSL Football’s TikTok page, featuring influencer GK Barry alongside her partner, Portsmouth midfielder Ella Rutherford. During the event, Barry made a series of inappropriate jokes, including a comment aimed at Tottenham.

Sources indicate that WSL Football has issued an apology to Tottenham, and the club is deliberating its response to the incident. Notably, Barry accidentally dropped a draw ball before retrieving it again for the proceedings.

Some club representatives have expressed that the attempt to engage younger audiences through the choice of platform and personalities was understandable. However, there is dissatisfaction regarding the balance between appealing to a younger demographic and maintaining a professional atmosphere during the draw.

While drawing the ball with Tottenham’s name, Barry remarked, “What do we think of Tottenham?” referencing a chant commonly sung by Arsenal fans. The adjudicator present confirmed that the ball pulled out on the second attempt was indeed the same as the one that had been dropped. WSL Football stated that had a different number been drawn, the process would have been restarted.

WSL Football informed BBC Sport that due to the presence of advertisements and its live TikTok format, the draw could not be made available on their YouTube channel. The quarter-finals are scheduled to take place between December 19-21, with the semi-finals set for January 21-22, 2026.

In a related note, the YouTube stream of the Women’s FA Cup third-round draw faced technical issues on Monday, resulting in the audio being unavailable. Although presenters and interviews from Oxford United could not be heard on the YouTube feed, the televised broadcast on TNT Sports ran without complications.

Upcoming quarter-final matchups include:
– Liverpool vs. Chelsea
– Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal
– Manchester United vs. Tottenham
– West Ham vs. Manchester City

The semi-finals will feature:
– Crystal Palace/Arsenal vs. Manchester United/Tottenham
– West Ham/Manchester City vs. Liverpool/Chelsea

Ben Haines, Ellen White, and Jen Beattie return for another season of the Women’s Football Weekly podcast, with new episodes released every Tuesday on BBC Sounds. Additional interviews and content from the Women’s Super League are also available on the Women’s Football Weekly feed.

Stay updated with the latest WSL news on our dedicated page.