Gabriella Howell is a figure of Women’s soccer. But off the pitch, on the street or at a party, the model or influencer it seems unrecognizable. “In social networks they attack me for my looks,” she says.

The athlete A 22-year-old from south-east London, UK, has been playing since she was a child, but some time ago she said that every day suffer for the haters cruelthat attack it in every way, even with aspects related to sport.

football and passion

Gabby Howell has been playing football since she was eight in the London Borough of Bromley.

“I had three older brothers who played football and I always went to their training “, says the young woman Mirror.

One day, as she sat next to her mother watching her siblings dribble at a school game, a coach from the women’s team approached her.

“He pointed to me and said, ‘He has three older brothers, can he play? We don’t have enough players’”She still remembers in disbelief.

Although the girls on the team were a few years older than Gabby, she didn’t hesitate a second and jumped onto the pitch with the illusion of a rookie who dreams of scoring a goal.

“When I was 10 I was caught playing a game in elementary school and then I joined Crystal Palace”, Reveals who confesses to be a Tottenham fan.

He played there until the age of 16 when he moved to Carshalton. And his next team was the Sutton United FCwhere he finished establishing himself as a footballer.

brave defender

“The club has a very good organization for women’s football,” explained Gabby, adding that she trains twice a week in addition to her daily work.

“They really want to cheer on girls when they come in and there is no difference between male and female players,” he said.

At the same time, he points out that he likes his coaches They are “not kind” to her because she is a womanwhich she thinks could be a problem in the women’s game.

Although the center-back is proud of his sporting achievements, he admits they can be ruined haters that haunt their Instagram, TikTok and Twitter pages.

Comments and gender

Gabby shared some of the sexist comments from TikTok that he was able to receive on his @_gabbyhowell account.

For example, under a video someone wrote to him: “Gabby, how did you get out of the kitchen?”. Another said: “Always shit! You are a woman who tries to practice a sport as a man “.

Another person chose to attack her for her image: “I think the problem with women’s football is that they choose their players more. for his looks and for his talent“.

Plus, she has to put up with the derogatory and sexist messages on Instagram from those who don’t take her seriously.

“The men they will say they are excited under my photos playing football, and if I tag my club in the post it is embarrassing, ”acknowledges the girl who suspects she is in the eye of the storm because she also likes to dress well, put on a lot of makeup and go out to party at night.

“I can play soccer and wear high heels,” Gabby launches without hesitation, determined to use the platform to inspire youngsters to take an interest in soccer and not feel that it’s a sport only for men.

“I keep hate comments on my profiles, I don’t delete them,” he explained, saying he wants people to see it. Having a lot of followers on Instagram isn’t as good as it sounds.

And he warns: “Young people think they want to be influencers but don’t see the drawbacks. I like to sensitize people ”.

Despite admitting that there was a time when trolls got on her nerves, she swears it hasn’t happened since. “Not everyone will like it. I repeat it to myself every time I see these comments,” she concluded.