GK Barry’s chaotic Women’s League Cup draw has triggered a backlash across the women’s game, with furious clubs demanding answers over crude jokes, a bizarre ball mix-up and a pointed dig at Tottenham Hotspur. The incident has left the Women’s Super League (WSL) and competition organisers under pressure to prove the integrity of the draw and rethink how they use influencers around flagship events.
Who is GK Barry?
GK Barry is the online persona of British TikTok creator and podcaster Grace Keeling, best known for her “Saving Grace” show and recent appearance on I’m A Celebrity. She has built a large following on social media with irreverent, adult humour and outspoken commentary, which WSL Football hoped would help attract younger viewers to the women’s game.
Her high profile and crossover into mainstream TV made her an eye-catching choice to front the Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-final and semi-final draw on TikTok. The decision, however, spectacularly backfired once the tone of the livestream clashed with expectations of professionalism around a national cup competition.
How the League Cup draw unfolded
The controversial draw was staged on Tuesday and streamed live on the WSL Football TikTok channel, with GK Barry drawing the balls and Portsmouth midfielder Ella Rutherford acting as co-host. An official adjudicator from the competition organisers was present in the room to oversee the process and confirm the numbers as they came out.
Clubs and fans had been expecting a simple, transparent broadcast of the quarter-final and semi-final ties, but many viewers complained the coverage was confusing and hard to follow, with no on-screen brackets and very few graphics. When some supporters asked in the comments for a clearer visual of who was playing whom, GK Barry jokingly replied that she needed a bigger budget for proper graphics.
Crude jokes and sexual innuendo
The central source of anger for many clubs was the style of humour running through the livestream. GK Barry opened the event with a sexual innuendo and continued with a series of crude remarks, including lines about “lesbians handling balls” and a suggestive reference to the competition sponsor Subway’s “footlong” sandwiches.
At one point, she shook the bag of numbered balls and slapped it against her backside with a line about giving it a “spank for luck”, which was widely shared on social media clips. Sources within the women’s game told reporters that these comments were seen as inappropriate for an official competition draw, particularly given that the TikTok audience included younger fans.
The ball back-in-the-bag incident
The moment that raised the sharpest questions over the integrity of the draw came when GK Barry mistakenly put a ball back into the bag after already pulling it out. Cameras showed her draw a ball, hesitate, drop it back among the others, then pull one out again and announce it was the same number – the ball that corresponded to Tottenham Hotspur.
On camera, she asked whether she was allowed to do that and remarked that it was “too late” before confirming she had picked up the same ball. The adjudicator overseeing the draw later confirmed to organisers and clubs that the same number had indeed been drawn twice, meaning a full re-draw was not required under competition rules.
Mocking Tottenham and WSL apology
The controversy intensified when GK Barry followed the Tottenham draw by asking: “What do we think of Tottenham?”, echoing a well-known chant used by Arsenal supporters that leads into an insulting punchline. That remark was viewed inside Spurs as overtly biased and disrespectful, prompting the club to raise its concerns directly with WSL Football.
WSL Football has since apologised to Tottenham for the comment and engaged in discussions with the club about the conduct of the draw. Officials stressed that while the tone of the broadcast fell below expectations, they are satisfied the draw itself was carried out correctly and that the ties stand.
Clubs’ fury and integrity concerns
Across the league, several clubs have demanded explanations from organisers, with some sources describing the event as “embarrassing” and “unprofessional”. Key concerns include the sexual nature of some jokes, the lack of clarity for viewers, and the apparent casual approach to a process that determines a major domestic cup pathway.
Clubs have asked for access to the full footage of the draw to review both procedure and presentation, though the original TikTok live is not currently available on WSL’s main social channels and survives only in screen-recorded clips. Internally, the episode has prompted broader questions about how far governing bodies should go in chasing online engagement at the expense of perceived seriousness.
Why WSL used a TikTok star
The decision to put GK Barry front and centre was part of a wider push to grow the women’s game among Gen Z and online audiences. With over a million followers across platforms and a reputation as a bold, uncensored host, she offered reach that traditional broadcasters might not provide for a midweek cup draw.
However, the backlash shows the risk of importing influencer culture wholesale into formal sporting ceremonies. Many in the women’s game feel the stunt undermined years of work to build credibility, professionalism and respect around WSL competitions, even as clubs acknowledge the need to keep attracting new supporters.
The actual quarter-final and semi-final ties
Away from the row, the draw itself produced some heavyweight fixtures in the Subway Women’s League Cup. Chelsea, the defending champions, will travel to face Liverpool, while league leaders Manchester City meet West Ham United. Manchester United will host Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace – the only club from the second tier left in the competition – will take on Arsenal.
The winners of Liverpool vs Chelsea will meet the winners of Manchester City vs West Ham in one semi-final, with the victors of Manchester United vs Spurs facing the winners of Arsenal vs Crystal Palace in the other. Those ties, and the route to the final, will remain unchanged unless organisers are forced into an unprecedented re-draw, which at this stage appears unlikely given the adjudicator’s sign-off.
What happens next for GK Barry and WSL
For GK Barry, the incident has brought a wave of criticism from sections of the football community while reinforcing her profile among followers who see her as unapologetically herself. There has been no public indication yet that she will be dropped from other WSL-related content, but the tone of club feedback suggests organisers will be far more cautious before pairing her – or any comparable influencer with future draws.
For the WSL and competition organisers, the episode acts as a sharpened warning about striking the right balance between entertainment and integrity. Expect renewed internal guidelines on who can front official competitions, tighter scripts, and a clearer separation between informal content and core sporting procedures such as tournament draws.
