Alex Scott denies being a 'Putin supporter' after troll drags up old photos
Former England international and BBC pundit Alex Scott has denied she's a 'Putin supporter' after a Twitter troll dragged up old photos of her in The Kremlin.
The images show Scott, 38, sat around a table in Moscow in 2018 with the President of FIFA Gianni Infantino and other powerful figures in the world of football, discussing 'the power' of the game.
'From that 8 year old on my estate playing cage football,' Scott tweeted at the time. 'Fast forward to sitting alongside the president of FIFA discussing the power of world football in the Kremlin today.'
However, more than four years after the pictures were posted, a troll decided to use them against Scott, claiming she backs the current President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
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'Wouldn't have thought you was a Putin supporter?' the user said, quote tweeting Scott's original post.
'Not once have I mentioned being a supporter,' she replied.
'Glad you posted the full tweet though and shown all the pictures.
'Four years ago using my voice in a room full of men, a seat at that table discussing women's sport and the power of football! Using my voice then and using it now.'
The troll then blocked Scott, prompting the ex-Arsenal star to say she was 'absolutely devastated'.
Scott, who's part of the BBC's punditry team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, won plenty of plaudits recently when she wore the 'One Love' armband on the Khalifa International Stadium touchline after England’s decision to abandon the gesture over FIFA sanctions.
She has also been vocal about the hosts' attitudes towards LGBTQ+ rights and stressed how important it is for pundits like herself to challenge the powers that be.
"I love my job," she told BBC Sport as the tournament was about to get underway.
"And when I think about it sitting here and having the harder conversations and it's bigger isn't it? We're talking about migrant workers, we're talking about the LGBT+ community, we're talking about women's rights.
"You think about four years ago, I was thinking about it this morning, I was the first female pundit for the BBC at the World Cup. You think how far we've moved in the last four years.
"Let's hope in the next four years at the world cup we're never having to have those conversations again."
James Aldred