Carolyn Radford: Why is football full of dinosaurs?

Speaking t0 BBC Radio Five Live, Radford, whose husband John is the Stags chairman, says she often feels looked down upon when in meetings and that her opinions are under-valued.

She said: “My points are equally valid.

“When you walk into a room and someone says to you, ‘oh, you look gorgeous today’ ... I don’t think they’d say that to another man.

“If I go into a boardroom, a lot of the time I’ll be talking to other chairmen of other football clubs or other executives at a high level and they’ll choose to just smile if I say anything, and talk to my husband.

“Then we’ll be coming home in the car and I think, ‘What is this about? Why is our sport so full of dinosaurs?’

“People are calling it out and saying it’s not acceptable,” she added.

“Beforehand I would just duck my head down and accept the abuse whereas now I’m actually saying: ‘I’m not going to patronised by you, I’m equally able to do a good job.’”

Last season, Radford was one of only seven female chief executives across the Premier League and Football League.