According to Luton Town manager Mike Newell, there is no place for women in men s football. My first reaction was that this a manager just being sexist, but then again he already admits he s sexist. He only made this harsh remark because he was feeling bi

According to Luton Town manager Mike Newell, there is no place for women in men's football.

My first reaction was that this a manager just being sexist, but then again he already admits he's sexist.

He only made this harsh remark because he was feeling bitter after his team lost to QPR.

And the one person he could take it out on was assistant referee Amy Rayner who indicated a corner which led to the winning goal.

What he is well reported as saying is that women are playing a part in the game as "a token effort for politically correct idiots".

He went on to say: "When you start bringing women in then you do have a problem."

He added: "This is Championship football. This is not park football, so what are women doing here? She should not be here. I know that sounds sexist, but I am sexist."

I wonder what he would have done if it had been a male referee, because men are capable of making bad decisions.

He obviously failed to take into consideration that Amy has been nominated for the Fifa women's referees list for 2007, so she can't be as incompetent as he's making out.

It's clear she has the skills and knowledge to do her job properly, so gender shouldn't even come into the equation.

It's a pity she has to put up with comments like this because it will stop women entering the game in the future, which is a shame when there's a shortage of referees in the country.

Newell claims women will not improve the game, so it would serve him right if Luton Town's female fans boycotted future games.

Meanwhile, I should say that Newell has said he will publicly apologise to Ms Rayner and has admitted that his remarks were "ill-timed" and "out of order".