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Drawing a Lionel Messi Parallel, Piers Morgan Sparks Controversy With Bold Trans Athletes’ Criticisms

Published 11/14/2023, 7:21 PM EST

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via Reuters

The debate about inclusivity in sports is still going on, with different people siding with different opinions. In a recent talk involving women’s sports, Lionel Messi was unexpectedly found to be one such example. After Megan Rapinoe‘s recent comments about women’s soccer, Piers Morgan made a bold claim with respect to a Canadian athlete, April Hutchinson, criticizing the inclusion of trans-athletes in women’s sports.

Lionel Messi has been part of Piers Morgan’s critical tweets on several occasions. But this time, unlike his criticism, Messi found himself to be taken as an example of a different hypothesis by the English TV personality.

Piers Morgan unexpectedly uses Lionel Messi as an example

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Megan Rapinoe was recently asked if she would see trans athletes playing on the USWNT. The legend who retired recently said yes without hesitation, considering them to be real women. However, April Hutchinson claimed that she was banned by her national sanctioning body after calling out a transgender athlete to compete against her. In response to this, Piers Morgan sided with the athlete, saying that even Messi could choose to play for the women’s team, claiming himself to be a woman.

Morgan said, “What happens if he (Lionel Messi) decides to identify as a woman? A) He can if he wants to; B) There’d be no law against him, prohibiting him from playing for the American women’s national team”. April Hutchinson said that since Rapinoe has retired, it will not affect her, but it may interfere with other women’s aspirations in sports.

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Hutchinson feels that male-born athletes have a greater physical advantage, which in the current scenario, is a drawback in weightlifting because it is a physical sport.

The athlete expressed her concern with Piers Morgan after claiming to be under intense scrutiny. This isn’t the first time Piers Morgan has voiced out his opinions on a controversial topic. The British TV personality is quite prominent in the soccer universe, sometimes for the right and sometimes for the wrong reasons.

Why is Piers Morgan so popular amongst soccer fans?

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The Englishman is known to have opinions not only about affairs related to politics but also about sports. Interestingly, it was Piers Morgan’s interview with Cristiano Ronaldo that took the Manchester United-Ronaldo saga to a whole new level. While the jury is still out there about the outcome, Morgan provided Ronaldo with a platform on which the soccer veteran exposed the dark truths of the Manchester club citing mismanagement.

Meanwhile, the 58-year-old journalist also called out Lionel Messi quite a few times recently. He critcised the Argentinian for going out of Europe at 36 to play in the USA. The recent opinion was even stronger when he called Messi’s Ballon d’Or win a bad decision. However, this time, Piers Morgan used the World Cup winner as a hypothesis rather than criticism.

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What do you think about the same? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Ruthu

777Articles

One take at a time

Ruthu is a soccer writer at EssentiallySports. His passion for the most beloved game was ignited by the remarkable 2002 World Cup-winning Brazil team. Watching the Premier League where Thierry Henry-starred ‘Invincible’ Gunners and Sir Alex Ferguson’s glorious Manchester United had ruled, he had his heart set on Arsenal.
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Edited by:

Daniel D'Cruz