imbalance | trent alexander-arnold¹

fourteen.

the aesthetic value of your emotions

Another week and another day for Wynter at Melwood. While some of the boys were doing interviews, others commenced with training. The french girl, on the other hand, was a different story. After the match against Liverpool, Wynter was advised by Claire to step out of the public eye until she would make an appearance again during the international break that was soon closing in and so all training for her since the previous week took place indoors if training was opened to the media.

She sat alone on her usual couch in the gaming room as she skimmed from channel to channel on the flat-screen placed in front of her. Although her brown eyes were glued to the screen, her ears failed to give their full concentration as to what was being played. However, they perked up at the mention of Wynter's name. She leaned back in her seat, turning the volume up.

"We're back here on MNF to discuss the whole controversy that happened during the Manchester City v Liverpool match. During the first half of the game, Liverpool's Wynter Reyes received two yellow cards from the referee, which ultimately led to the player receiving a red card so she was sent off for the rest of the match. Many football fans, not just Liverpool fans, have called out the ref and the Premier League for allowing this to happen all over social media. Majority of people believe that Reyes didn't deserve her red card. What are you guys' thoughts?"

"I think like the majority of people, I think Reyes didn't deserve the red card. She did absolutely nothing wrong to get it. I think out of all players on the pitch that should've gotten the card is Stones! I mean, he was the one who repeatedly tackled Reyes, so I think the match just had extremely poor refereeing overall."

"Personally, I believe the whole incident is an important case that the Premier League should take into account. Like, I know a lot of people associated with football will have a hard time agreeing with what I'm going to say, but the truth is that the referee's attitudes towards Wynter were targeted at her, not Liverpool and we first got a glimpse of it at the start of the game when he didn't shake her hand. To people who think everything was "miscommunication" or whatever, they need to understand that what the ref did was unacceptable and shouldn't be tolerated in football."

"What about the Premier League? Do you think they should handle the situation? And how should they handle it?"

"They should definitely handle the situation but in the correct way – perhaps gathering Reyes' side of the situation first any other. It all happened under their watch so yes, they must do something about it. Handle it in the way they would handle any other discriminatory actions such as racism towards players. 

"It's honestly not even that difficult, but I feel like the Premier League are currently lacking the want to actually take action into this case. It's a real shame because Reyes doesn't deserve the backlash she's getting from fans who believe she's the reason why Liverpool didn't win the match."

"I agree with that. . . Whether a player's this or that, everyone should be treated the same and if that doesn't happen, the Premier League and the FA should conduct the same actions for all players or staff, not prioritise one's protection and safety over the other simply because of their gender. . ."

As the player appreciated the support that they displayed through their words, she wished certain statements weren't true. The Premier League are currently lacking the want to actually take action. It hit, hard. Fortunately, she didn't come into this football industry naively believing that absolutely nothing would come her way. 

She'd first hand seen the way in which certain players were treated by the fans, staff and the FA and with the uniformly brutal treatment she received from just being an athlete, she didn't expect any better for herself in a male-dominated sport.