Australian radio host leaves role after ‘unacceptable' comments on women's national soccer team
Marty Sheargold has been stood down from his position with the Triple M network after saying on air that the current women's national team reminded him of 'Year 10 girls' as well as mocking the name of the SheBelieves Cup. He later asked a co-host if they had 'got any men's sport' to discuss instead.
Advertisement
On Wednesday Triple M's parent company, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), confirmed a decision had been reached for the network to 'mutually part ways' with the 53-year-old comedian.
Football Australia, the body that runs soccer in the country, welcomed the 'swift response' calling the comments 'unacceptable', saying they 'diminish the extraordinary achievements and contributions of our women's national football team' while also failing to recognise the 'profound impact they have had on Australian sport and society.'
They also called on the incident to act as 'a stark reminder' of the 'responsibility media outlets and personalities have in fostering respectful and constructive discussions about women's sport and its participants.'
Football Australia is deeply disappointed by the unacceptable comments made by Marty Sheargold on Triple M regarding the CommBank Matildas.
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 26, 2025
SCA's chief content officer Dave Cameron said the incident offers his company the chance 'for reflection and review' with Sheargold saying he fully understood 'the gravity of his comments' and apologising for them.
Australia have appeared in eight World Cups since debuting in 1995 and reached the semifinals on home soil in 2023.
They are three-time champions of Oceanian Cup and will host the Asian Cup — a tournament they won in 2010 — next year.
'With just 12 months to go until Australia hosts the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026, we look forward to building on the incredible story of the CommBank Matildas and continuing to elevate women's football,' the Football Australia statement added. 'This tournament will provide another platform to showcase women's football and further inspire future generations.
'Football Australia remains steadfast in its commitment to equality, diversity, and ensuring that the next generation of women and girls in football see a sport that values and respects them.
Advertisement
'We appreciate the swift response from Southern Cross Austereo and hope this leads to meaningful conversations about the role of media in shaping public perceptions of women's football and women's sport in general.'
The team will play its final match of the SheBelieves Cup Wednesday night against Colombia. They lost their first two matches of the tournament to Japan and the United States.
(for Football Australia)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
43 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Wimbledon: Fritz, Khachanov and Norrie reach the quarterfinals. No. 1 Sabalenka wins, too
LONDON (AP) — U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz moved into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the third time in four years on Sunday, advancing when his injured opponent, Jordan Thompson, quit while trailing 6-1, 3-0 after 41 minutes. The unseeded Thompson's movement and power clearly were compromised. The Australian entered the match with back and leg issues and left the court for a medical timeout in the second set, then stopped after trying to play for three more points. 'Just got significantly worse today,' said Thompson, who was competing in singles and doubles at Wimbledon. 'Just played a lot of tennis on a body that shouldn't have been, and it just took its toll.' For the No. 5-seeded Fritz , it was a shorter workday after playing a pair of five-setters and one four-setter earlier in the tournament. 'It's obviously not the way that I want to go through,' Fritz said. 'It's just sad. ... Respect to him for coming out. His body's not right.' Now the American will meet No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals — a round neither has reached at the All England Club. Khachanov has been a Grand Slam semifinalist twice, at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2023. Fritz made it that far at a major for the first time when he got to the final at Flushing Meadows in September before losing to No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Khachanov beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday and is 2-0 against Fritz, although their most recent meeting was in 2020. 'We practice all the time, so we're pretty familiar with each other's games,' Fritz said. 'But I think I improved a ton and have become a much, much better player since the last time we played.' What else happened at Wimbledon on Sunday? No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals at her 11th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, defeating No. 24 Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-6 (4), and will play unseeded Laura Siegemund , the 37-year-old German who followed up her elimination of Australian Open champ Madison Keys by beating lucky loser Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2. When Siegemund's age was mentioned during an on-court interview, the crowd applauded, and she joked: 'It's not that often you get such a compliment for being old.' Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova overcame a missed call late in the first set when the electronic system that replaced line judges at Wimbledon this year was shut off but ended up beating Sonay Kartal 7-6 (3), 6-4 to return to the grass-court major's quarterfinals for the first time in nine years. Pavlyuchenkova's opponent Tuesday will be No. 13 Amanda Anisimova or No. 30 Linda Noskova. In men's action, the last British singles player, 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie, advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over qualifier Nicolas Jarry of Chile. The 61st-ranked Norrie, who played college tennis at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, will go up against two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or No. 14 Andrey Rublev for a spot in the final four. Who plays at the All England Club on Monday? The quarterfinals will be set after Monday's play, which leads off at Centre Court with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic against No. 11 Alex de Minaur at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET). They were supposed to face each other in last year's quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but de Minaur was forced to withdraw before the match with a hip injury. That's to be followed by No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. No. 10 Emma Navarro , who eliminated 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the third round, and then No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. Others in action: Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton and Marin Cilic. ___ More AP tennis:
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Wimbledon: Fritz, Khachanov and Norrie reach the quarterfinals. No. 1 Sabalenka wins, too
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz moved into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the third time in four years on Sunday, advancing when his injured opponent, Jordan Thompson, quit while trailing 6-1, 3-0 after 41 minutes. The unseeded Thompson's movement and power clearly were compromised. The Australian entered the match with back and leg issues and left the court for a medical timeout in the second set, then stopped after trying to play for three more points. 'Just got significantly worse today," said Thompson, who was competing in singles and doubles at Wimbledon. 'Just played a lot of tennis on a body that shouldn't have been, and it just took its toll.' For the No. 5-seeded Fritz, it was a shorter workday after playing a pair of five-setters and one four-setter earlier in the tournament. 'It's obviously not the way that I want to go through,' Fritz said. 'It's just sad. ... Respect to him for coming out. His body's not right.' Now the American will meet No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals — a round neither has reached at the All England Club. Khachanov has been a Grand Slam semifinalist twice, at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2023. Fritz made it that far at a major for the first time when he got to the final at Flushing Meadows in September before losing to No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Khachanov beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday and is 2-0 against Fritz, although their most recent meeting was in 2020. 'We practice all the time, so we're pretty familiar with each other's games,' Fritz said. 'But I think I improved a ton and have become a much, much better player since the last time we played.' What else happened at Wimbledon on Sunday? No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals at her 11th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, defeating No. 24 Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-6 (4), and will play unseeded Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who followed up her elimination of Australian Open champ Madison Keys by beating lucky loser Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2. When Siegemund's age was mentioned during an on-court interview, the crowd applauded, and she joked: 'It's not that often you get such a compliment for being old.' Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova overcame a missed call late in the first set when the electronic system that replaced line judges at Wimbledon this year was shut off but ended up beating Sonay Kartal 7-6 (3), 6-4 to return to the grass-court major's quarterfinals for the first time in nine years. Pavlyuchenkova's opponent Tuesday will be No. 13 Amanda Anisimova or No. 30 Linda Noskova. In men's action, the last British singles player, 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie, advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over qualifier Nicolas Jarry of Chile. The 61st-ranked Norrie, who played college tennis at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, will go up against two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or No. 14 Andrey Rublev for a spot in the final four. Who plays at the All England Club on Monday? The quarterfinals will be set after Monday's play, which leads off at Centre Court with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic against No. 11 Alex de Minaur at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET). They were supposed to face each other in last year's quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but de Minaur was forced to withdraw before the match with a hip injury. That's to be followed by No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. No. 10 Emma Navarro, who eliminated 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the third round, and then No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. Others in action: Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton and Marin Cilic. ___ More AP tennis:
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Taylor Fritz reaches Wimbledon quarterfinals when injured opponent quits
LONDON — U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz moved into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the third time in four years on Sunday, advancing when his injured opponent, Jordan Thompson, quit while trailing 6-1, 3-0 after 41 minutes. The unseeded Thompson's movement and power clearly were compromised. The Australian entered the match with back and leg issues and left the court for a medical timeout in the second set, then stopped after trying to play for three more points. 'Just got significantly worse today,' said Thompson, who was competing in singles and doubles at Wimbledon. 'Just played a lot of tennis on a body that shouldn't have been, and it just took its toll.' For the No. 5-seeded Fritz, it was a shorter workday after playing a pair of five-setters and one four-setter earlier in the tournament. 'It's obviously not the way that I want to go through,' Fritz said. 'It's just sad. ... Respect to him for coming out. His body's not right.' Now the American will meet No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals — a round neither has reached at the All England Club. Khachanov has been a Grand Slam semifinalist twice, at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the Australian Open in 2023. Fritz made it that far at a major for the first time when he got to the final at Flushing Meadows in September before losing to No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Khachanov beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday and is 2-0 against Fritz, although their most recent meeting was in 2020. 'We practice all the time, so we're pretty familiar with each other's games,' Fritz said. 'But I think I improved a ton and have become a much, much better player since the last time we played.' What else happened at Wimbledon on Sunday? No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals at her 11th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, defeating No. 24 Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-6 (4), and will play Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who followed up her elimination of Australian Open champ Madison Keys by beating lucky loser Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2. When Siegemund's age was mentioned during an on-court interview, the crowd applauded, and she joked: 'It's not that often you get such a compliment for being old.' Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova overcame a missed call late in the first set when the electronic system that replaced line judges at Wimbledon this year was shut off but ended up beating Sonay Kartal 7-6 (3), 6-4 to return to the grass-court major's quarterfinals for the first time in nine years. Pavlyuchenkova's opponent Tuesday will be No. 13 Amanda Anisimova or No. 30 Linda Noskova. The men's matches later Sunday were two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 14 Andrey Rublev, and Cam Norrie vs. Nicolas Jarry. Who plays at the All England Club on Monday? The quarterfinals will be set after Monday's play, which leads off at Centre Court with 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic against No. 11 Alex de Minaur at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET). They were supposed to face each other in last year's quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but de Minaur was forced to withdraw before the match with a hip injury. That's to be followed by No. 7 Mirra Andreeva vs. No. 10 Emma Navarro, who eliminated 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova in the third round, and then No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. Others in action: Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton and Marin Cilic.
