Rachel Corsie: The support for Ava Easdon has been encouraging – but there is no room for bullying or abuse in women’s football

There is no room in men’s or women’s football for any kind of bullying – and players should never be targeted with abuse online.

After what was a landmark League Cup final on Sunday, Partick Thistle goalkeeper Ava Easdon – who is only 17 years old – was the subject of vile comments made by a former footballer.

I won’t name the ex-player in question as I don’t want to put any more of a spotlight on him as a person.

His comments following the Sky Sports Cup final were not the first time he has encouraged a pile on against those playing or working in women’s football.

The irony is he seems to be watching more women’s football than anyone else on the planet as he always seems to have something to say about it.

I have seen a few comments since the cup final which have been along the lines of: “they want women’s football to be on the TV, but they don’t want to take the criticism” – and that is simply not the case.

It is not a case of being disgruntled due to receiving criticism because there is room for opinion and analysis.

It is something we have seen more of as the women’s game has developed which is great because it can add value to the sport, but hateful, targeted abuse is never acceptable and should never be excused as criticism.

I have played football for long enough to have been subject to nasty, scathing comments and I know many other footballers who have sadly experienced the same.

I don’t think it is something we should have to accept or shrug off just because we are put under the spotlight.

Ava is a talented young goalkeeper who is at the start of her career and has a promising future ahead of her. I hope she has not been consumed by the unwanted attention she has received this week.

There has been an outpouring of support for her online and I hope that is what she takes away from the situation, rather than the nasty remarks.

The former footballer also targeted abuse at Rangers captain Nicola Docherty which prompted her club to put out a statement in which they took a stand against the “homophobic and disgraceful slurs” posted by one of their ex-men’s players.

It is sad Rangers had to do that, but it was very important they responded. The women’s game is still growing and allyship is a very powerful thing.

Rangers FC Response To Discriminatory Comments

📲 https://t.co/yaauID1j3z pic.twitter.com/JkgYPJl7Us

— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) March 26, 2024

There has to be a united front, rather than the victims of abuse having to stand alone and deal with their experiences.

As players, we have had to fight for so many things as the women’s game has progressed over the years and it helps a lot when you receive that kind of backing and support.

Referees in WSL need support

A big talking point from last weekend’s FA WSL action was the standard of refereeing, following wrong decisions in some of the games.

We were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal at Villa Park and their third goal should have been ruled out for a handball and an offside. I thought it was a clear decision at the time.

But, I know I could have defended the situation differently. I should not have assumed decisions were going to be made and there were things I could have done better to limit Arsenal’s opportunity to score.

The referees are in a difficult position because there are not the resources in the game at the moment to help them out when making certain decisions.

The majority of the referees are not full-time which is hard because the game is at a level where it is growing and getting better all the time – and the resources afforded to the officials does not reflect the same progress made in other aspects of our sport.

I am reluctant to criticise referees.

We can not play our game without them and we should be encouraging more women to get involved because there is a shortage of officials.

It does not reflect well on the game when wrong decisions are made, but the only way things are going to improve if more money is invested and if the officials gain more experience operating at the highest level.

Scotland ready for Euro qualifying opener

I am looking forward to going away with Scotland next week as we start our European Championship qualifying campaign against Serbia and Slovakia.

We were last in camp for the Pinatar Cup in February and I really enjoyed the time we had together. I felt we put in a lot of good work which will put us in good stead for this international window.

This camp is a return to competitive fixtures and that brings an extra bit of excitement.