GARETH Southgate and the morally superior administrators who run English football are at it again, this time in the form of a campaign to cut out what they call “sexist hate”.

The new campaign, in case you haven’t seen it, came out in time for the Women’s Euro Championship and involves England's Lionesses battling all sorts of hardships like Viking warriors without any need of assistance, until they receive a text saying, “Get back in the kitchen you stupid woman”.

As is the way of things today, these offensive words are presented as a serious problem and we men are instructed to realise that this is not a woman’s problem, “It’s ours”.

From a women’s equality perspective, the advert is slightly weird in this respect as it edges towards portraying all women as vulnerable and in need of support from men – the final shot shows the big men of England standing behind the “little women” who no longer appear to be the independent warriors who can take on the world. Kind of sexist in my opinion.

If there is any doubt that all men are being targeted in this advert, there is a slightly longer version with a pious and softly spoken Gareth staring out at us with his doe eyes, “Why should they be paid with pain just for playing the beautiful game?” poetic Gareth asks us.

Adopting the identity politics idea of “privilege”, Gareth opens the ad by saying I hope we can talk, “because the privilege of being a man sometimes blurs our vision, and there is a clear problem we all need to tackle”. Apparently, the desire to “devalue and damage, to disregard, remains strong”, in men, and “it’s a stain on us all”.

The advert explains to us that words hurt, indeed they act as a chain holding the Lionesses back. Why, Gareth asks, should we expect women to have “a skin thick enough to weather the storm?”

It’s actually a very good advert, at least in terms of what it aims to do. But if Gareth were to educate himself a little, he may realise that there are some issues that need a little more thought and a little less sermonising.

Let’s start with the Maoist idea that all men need to be re-educated by Gareth.

If Gareth read the Social Attitude Survey on views on traditional gender roles he would find, for example, that whereas in 1987, 48 percent of people in the UK thought that “a man’s job is to earn money, a woman’s job is to look after the home and family”. But by 2017 only eight percent thought this.

This would suggest that rather than texts bombarding the Lionesses from millions of men (and indeed women) about, “Getting back in the kitchen”, it would be very unusual to find someone who actually thinks this way.

Additionally, a 2018 survey by Women in Football found that UK parents, especially those under 40, “are increasingly enthusiastic about their daughters playing football”. Furthermore, it notes, “Dads are generally happier than Mums for their daughters to pursue playing, coaching or administrative careers in football”.

My daughter played football at school, it’s pretty much the norm now. Again, if you asked the other dads or other men if they thought it was OK to send offensive text messages to women players, I suspect the number of those who think it is acceptable to devalue, damage or disregard women in this way is close to zero.

The idea of “male privilege” is also worth some further consideration, and it has been observed that white working-class boys and young men, for example, are lagging behind every other group in society when it comes to education and job success today.

Finally, dismissing the idea of having a thick skin is also questionable. As I’ve observed before, this idea used to be an important one and when encouraged by society can in fact result in young men and women growing up without the need of Gareth and his genuinely privileged pals helping us to deal with online buffoons.

But then, these adverts are not really about our prejudices but rather they are about the prejudices of the modern elites who really do think that men, and football supporting men in particular, are knuckle dragging bigots who must be educated about the vulnerable “little women” playing football.

So, dear Gareth, please educate yourself and realise your job in life is not as a politician or a priest, you’re the manager of England’s football team, a job that does indeed bring much pain to the beautiful game.