November 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Sign up to our sports newsletter here.
Matildas star Mary Fowler has alleged she experienced racism at her former French football club, Montpellier, in her recently published memoir. The club has strongly denied the allegation. Today, we're unpacking what Fowler says happened, the response from not only the club but the broader sporting world, and the mental health conversations her book has sparked.
Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Sam Koslowski
Producer: Orla Maher
Want to support The Daily Aus? That's so kind! The best way to do that is to click ‘follow’ on Spotify or Apple and to leave us a five-star review. We would be so grateful.
The Daily Aus is a media company focused on delivering accessible and digestible news to young people. We are completely independent.
Want more from TDA?
Subscribe to The Daily Aus newsletter
Subscribe to The Daily Aus’ YouTube Channel
Have feedback for us?
We’re always looking for new ways to improve what we do. If you’ve got feedback, we’re all ears. Tell us here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Already and this is the Daily This is the Dahlias.
Oh now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily Ours. It's Tuesday,
the twenty fifth of November.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Sam Keloski.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Matilda's star Mary Fowler has alleged she experienced racism at
her former French football club Montpellier in her recently published memoir. Now,
the club has strongly denied the allegation. So today we're
going to unpack what Fowler said happened. The response from
not only the club, but also the broadest sporting world
(00:41):
and the mental health conversations her book has also sparked.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
And why don't we start this conversation off with Mary
Fowler herself? So give me a sense of who this
very young athlete is.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, so we're talking about one of Australia's most talent footballers.
She is only twenty two years old. But of course
Mary Fowler is a beloved Matilda's player. She currently plays
for Manchester City in the Women's Super League, which is
England's top tier women's competition. And as I mentioned, she
is a key player for our national football team. If
(01:17):
you were not a Fowler fan before the twenty twenty
three World Cup, you were probably one afterwards. She was
everywhere during that incredible campaign from the Tillies. She's even
got her own Barbie doll and she was born in
Cans and comes from a sporting family. Her father played
professional football in Pubu, New Guinea and several of her
siblings have also played at the elite level.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And just like a lot of our best footballers, she
hasn't played a lot of her actual career in Australia.
She's in France well, exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So she moved to France when she was just seventeen
years old, so young. That was in twenty twenty when
Fowler joined Montpellier, a club in the French Women's League,
and moving overseas at that age. As you've mentioned, Sam,
for ossie's it's not that uncommon. There are so many
talented Ossie players playing in Europe in the UK professionally
(02:10):
for football, because you know, it's just generally such a
world class competition over there and considered, you know, stronger
than what is available domestically to football is here. So
Mary Fowler spent three seasons at that French club before
moving to Man city where I mentioned she plays now
and that's as part of the Women's Super League in England.
So she is one of the best women's football players
(02:34):
in the world.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And she has recently published a memoir. That's why we're
talking about her on the podcast today. Take me through
the allegations that she has put out in this book
about that time in France.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah. So the book that Mary Fowler has just released
is called Bloom and in it she wrote that at
a ceremony for players who were departing Montpellier in twenty
twenty two, she and another teammate, Ashley Weirden, were the
only two who were leaving the club who didn't receive
flowers right. Fowler wrote quote, Afterwards we got inside the
changing room, some of our teammates questioned why we hadn't
(03:10):
received any flowers. A few of the girls laughed about it,
and then one of the other players came over and
handed my friend and meet some bananas, saying here have these.
She goes on to say, not receiving flowers was one thing,
but as two of only six black girls in the squad,
receiving bananas wasn't something I could laugh off and forget about.
Fowler also claims in the book that both she and
(03:32):
Weirden were left feeling a similar way quote many other
times during her second year at Montpellier.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Pretty shocking allegations. I want to talk through what's happened
since that book was released, but we'll be right back
with more of today's Dee Dive right after this. So
some very serious allegations from Mary Fowler in this book,
but it's not the first time that we've seen something
like this in European football exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
This association between bananas and racism in the sport has
a long and very ugly history, you know, stretching back
as far as the nineteen sixties. It's been used as
a racist gesture towards black players for decades and even
as recently as twenty twenty two. Now, that was when
Brazilian footballer Racharlison Deandrade he's also a current Tottenham forward,
(04:22):
had a banana thrown at him after he scored a
goal against Tunisia in a friendly game in Paris. He
expressed outrage at that racist act, and that was the
same year as the alleged incident that Fowler wrote about
in her book.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And so now that those allegations are out there. How
has Montpellier responded to them?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
The club has strongly denied the accusation. They released a
statement saying there's no evidence to support Fowler's account. They
have really downplayed these claims. They pointed out that Fowler
was actually under contract with them until twenty twenty three,
which seems to be their way of questioning why she
would describe herself as leaving in twenty twenty two. And
(05:02):
in their statement, the club said that if such incidents
had been reported and substantiated, they would have taken all
necessary measures immediately upon being notified, and they added that
racism is a serious issue to the club. According to
some reports now though Montpellier may be considering legal options
in response to the allegations, so looking to challenge Mary
(05:24):
Faller's claims.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yeah, that's a really strong reaction to the allegations. Puts
Mary Fowler perhaps in some legal difficulties. There. Has Mary
Fowler now that she's had a chance to understand and
see how the club has responded. Has Mary Fowler or
anybody else responded to the way in which Montpellier has
denied these claims.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Fowler herself hasn't made any additional comments beyond what we
have publicly written in her book, but we have heard
from her coach, the Matilda's coach, Joe Montemuro. He has
spoken out in support of Fowler last week, calling her
honesty courageous and said that it highlighted the pressure elite
athletes face. We also got a statement from Football Australia,
(06:03):
the sport's national governing body, which said, quote, Mary Fowler
has shown a lot of courage in sharing her story
and by being open about her experiences, she will help
contribute to broader conversations around athlete well being, inclusion and
respect in sport.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
And I think this is one of those stories that
come up, unfortunately in sport quite often. I mean here
in Australia. Pretty much every single major sporting code has
had its own issues with racism within the last decade,
if not much much longer than that. Even some are
similar to the issues that Mary Fowler has identified or
alleged here in terms of you know, comparisons to gorillas
(06:40):
and the presence of bananas and imagery and all that
kind of thing. But does it raise more questions about
the culture of women's football more generally.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah, there has been some commentary from advocates working to
fight racism in sport who say this type of incident
goes much deeper across football, across multiple codes, as you've
touched on, Sam, But I think it's also worth noting
that there have been a lot of comments on social
media against Montpellier, people accusing the club of longstanding racism. Now,
(07:10):
of course those are unsubstantiated comments, but that gives you
a sense of the dialogue happening online about this. Racism
in football, as we know, has been an ongoing issue
for several decades. But I think what's interesting about Mary
Fowler's story is that this is an issue that's often
been more visible in men's football. Sure, and we've kind
of got I suppose that the dark side of women's
(07:32):
footbook growing and achieving so much in recent years, is
there is now an increased visibility in scrutiny over the
darker side of the sport or alleged issues like racism.
So I think you know, there's good and bad from that,
but it says a lot about the profile of the
sport that we're talking about this today that Mary Fowler
felt she could write about it in her book a
(07:52):
few years on.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
And I think that darker side of the sport will
inevitably lead to mental struggles for those who are alleging
that they're victims of it, and that's one of the
most powerful parts of that book, I think.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, So this memoir you've probably seen floating around on
news sites various headlines, but it addresses mental health. Fowl
has been really candid about her experience, and she said
that when she was a teen athlete living overseas, it
was a particularly difficult time. She wrote about periods of
self harm and experiencing suicidal ideation. Of course, you know
(08:27):
the context there being she was seventeen, when she was
living in a foreign country, trying to establish her professional career,
and clearly dealing with significant challenges at the time, as
you've mentioned, Sam, if she was experiencing racism while also
dealing with being away from home struggling with her mental health,
you can see how all of those things would easily
compound and.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So and where does this leave things now, both for
Fowler and the club. I also think it's worth mentioning
where a hundred days away or thereabouts from the Asian
Cup for women's football, that's going to be here in Australia.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Exactly coming in March. This is a really difficult situation.
You have Fowler making these very serious allegations, speaking publicly
about her memoir. Then we've got this club issuing a
strong denial dismissing the allegation, suggesting that there could be
legal action whichever way you look at it, though, you know,
I think the sentiment is here that Fowler opening up
(09:20):
about mental health struggles about her lived experience is making
the sport better for more conversations of that nature. The
Matilda's coach Joe Montemiro described her as something of a
role model to all athletes, so I thought we would
finish on his quote. I just applaud Mary to come
out and talk about racism and mental health sets a
great example of what needs to be done if these
(09:42):
things do happen in elite sport.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Thank you for taking us through that, and I think
it's a really good story for us to be covering
as part of TDA Sport trying to grow the way
in which sports journalism is done in Australia as well
and highlighting types of stories like the ones that we've
discussed today exactly and If.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You want more tea sport, you can sign up to
our newsletter that comes out every afternoon. There'll be a
link in the episode description.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's all from us, though. We'll be back this afternoon
with your headlines. Until then, have a great day. My
name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung
Kalkotin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that
this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl
people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait
(10:29):
island and nations. We pay our respects to the first
peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Already and this is the Daily This is the Dahlias.
Oh now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily Ours. It's Tuesday,
the twenty fifth of November.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Sam Keloski.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Matilda's star Mary Fowler has alleged she experienced racism at
her former French football club Montpellier in her recently published memoir. Now,
the club has strongly denied the allegation. So today we're
going to unpack what Fowler said happened. The response from
not only the club, but also the broadest sporting world
(00:41):
and the mental health conversations her book has also sparked.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
And why don't we start this conversation off with Mary
Fowler herself? So give me a sense of who this
very young athlete is.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, so we're talking about one of Australia's most talent footballers.
She is only twenty two years old. But of course
Mary Fowler is a beloved Matilda's player. She currently plays
for Manchester City in the Women's Super League, which is
England's top tier women's competition. And as I mentioned, she
is a key player for our national football team. If
(01:17):
you were not a Fowler fan before the twenty twenty
three World Cup, you were probably one afterwards. She was
everywhere during that incredible campaign from the Tillies. She's even
got her own Barbie doll and she was born in
Cans and comes from a sporting family. Her father played
professional football in Pubu, New Guinea and several of her
siblings have also played at the elite level.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And just like a lot of our best footballers, she
hasn't played a lot of her actual career in Australia.
She's in France well, exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So she moved to France when she was just seventeen
years old, so young. That was in twenty twenty when
Fowler joined Montpellier, a club in the French Women's League,
and moving overseas at that age. As you've mentioned, Sam,
for ossie's it's not that uncommon. There are so many
talented Ossie players playing in Europe in the UK professionally
(02:10):
for football, because you know, it's just generally such a
world class competition over there and considered, you know, stronger
than what is available domestically to football is here. So
Mary Fowler spent three seasons at that French club before
moving to Man city where I mentioned she plays now
and that's as part of the Women's Super League in England.
So she is one of the best women's football players
(02:34):
in the world.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And she has recently published a memoir. That's why we're
talking about her on the podcast today. Take me through
the allegations that she has put out in this book
about that time in France.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah. So the book that Mary Fowler has just released
is called Bloom and in it she wrote that at
a ceremony for players who were departing Montpellier in twenty
twenty two, she and another teammate, Ashley Weirden, were the
only two who were leaving the club who didn't receive
flowers right. Fowler wrote quote, Afterwards we got inside the
changing room, some of our teammates questioned why we hadn't
(03:10):
received any flowers. A few of the girls laughed about it,
and then one of the other players came over and
handed my friend and meet some bananas, saying here have these.
She goes on to say, not receiving flowers was one thing,
but as two of only six black girls in the squad,
receiving bananas wasn't something I could laugh off and forget about.
Fowler also claims in the book that both she and
(03:32):
Weirden were left feeling a similar way quote many other
times during her second year at Montpellier.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Pretty shocking allegations. I want to talk through what's happened
since that book was released, but we'll be right back
with more of today's Dee Dive right after this. So
some very serious allegations from Mary Fowler in this book,
but it's not the first time that we've seen something
like this in European football exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
This association between bananas and racism in the sport has
a long and very ugly history, you know, stretching back
as far as the nineteen sixties. It's been used as
a racist gesture towards black players for decades and even
as recently as twenty twenty two. Now, that was when
Brazilian footballer Racharlison Deandrade he's also a current Tottenham forward,
(04:22):
had a banana thrown at him after he scored a
goal against Tunisia in a friendly game in Paris. He
expressed outrage at that racist act, and that was the
same year as the alleged incident that Fowler wrote about
in her book.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And so now that those allegations are out there. How
has Montpellier responded to them?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
The club has strongly denied the accusation. They released a
statement saying there's no evidence to support Fowler's account. They
have really downplayed these claims. They pointed out that Fowler
was actually under contract with them until twenty twenty three,
which seems to be their way of questioning why she
would describe herself as leaving in twenty twenty two. And
(05:02):
in their statement, the club said that if such incidents
had been reported and substantiated, they would have taken all
necessary measures immediately upon being notified, and they added that
racism is a serious issue to the club. According to
some reports now though Montpellier may be considering legal options
in response to the allegations, so looking to challenge Mary
(05:24):
Faller's claims.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Yeah, that's a really strong reaction to the allegations. Puts
Mary Fowler perhaps in some legal difficulties. There. Has Mary
Fowler now that she's had a chance to understand and
see how the club has responded. Has Mary Fowler or
anybody else responded to the way in which Montpellier has
denied these claims.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Fowler herself hasn't made any additional comments beyond what we
have publicly written in her book, but we have heard
from her coach, the Matilda's coach, Joe Montemuro. He has
spoken out in support of Fowler last week, calling her
honesty courageous and said that it highlighted the pressure elite
athletes face. We also got a statement from Football Australia,
(06:03):
the sport's national governing body, which said, quote, Mary Fowler
has shown a lot of courage in sharing her story
and by being open about her experiences, she will help
contribute to broader conversations around athlete well being, inclusion and
respect in sport.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
And I think this is one of those stories that
come up, unfortunately in sport quite often. I mean here
in Australia. Pretty much every single major sporting code has
had its own issues with racism within the last decade,
if not much much longer than that. Even some are
similar to the issues that Mary Fowler has identified or
alleged here in terms of you know, comparisons to gorillas
(06:40):
and the presence of bananas and imagery and all that
kind of thing. But does it raise more questions about
the culture of women's football more generally.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah, there has been some commentary from advocates working to
fight racism in sport who say this type of incident
goes much deeper across football, across multiple codes, as you've
touched on, Sam, But I think it's also worth noting
that there have been a lot of comments on social
media against Montpellier, people accusing the club of longstanding racism. Now,
(07:10):
of course those are unsubstantiated comments, but that gives you
a sense of the dialogue happening online about this. Racism
in football, as we know, has been an ongoing issue
for several decades. But I think what's interesting about Mary
Fowler's story is that this is an issue that's often
been more visible in men's football. Sure, and we've kind
of got I suppose that the dark side of women's
(07:32):
footbook growing and achieving so much in recent years, is
there is now an increased visibility in scrutiny over the
darker side of the sport or alleged issues like racism.
So I think you know, there's good and bad from that,
but it says a lot about the profile of the
sport that we're talking about this today that Mary Fowler
felt she could write about it in her book a
(07:52):
few years on.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
And I think that darker side of the sport will
inevitably lead to mental struggles for those who are alleging
that they're victims of it, and that's one of the
most powerful parts of that book, I think.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, So this memoir you've probably seen floating around on
news sites various headlines, but it addresses mental health. Fowl
has been really candid about her experience, and she said
that when she was a teen athlete living overseas, it
was a particularly difficult time. She wrote about periods of
self harm and experiencing suicidal ideation. Of course, you know
(08:27):
the context there being she was seventeen, when she was
living in a foreign country, trying to establish her professional career,
and clearly dealing with significant challenges at the time, as
you've mentioned, Sam, if she was experiencing racism while also
dealing with being away from home struggling with her mental health,
you can see how all of those things would easily
compound and.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So and where does this leave things now, both for
Fowler and the club. I also think it's worth mentioning
where a hundred days away or thereabouts from the Asian
Cup for women's football, that's going to be here in Australia.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Exactly coming in March. This is a really difficult situation.
You have Fowler making these very serious allegations, speaking publicly
about her memoir. Then we've got this club issuing a
strong denial dismissing the allegation, suggesting that there could be
legal action whichever way you look at it, though, you know,
I think the sentiment is here that Fowler opening up
(09:20):
about mental health struggles about her lived experience is making
the sport better for more conversations of that nature. The
Matilda's coach Joe Montemiro described her as something of a
role model to all athletes, so I thought we would
finish on his quote. I just applaud Mary to come
out and talk about racism and mental health sets a
great example of what needs to be done if these
(09:42):
things do happen in elite sport.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Thank you for taking us through that, and I think
it's a really good story for us to be covering
as part of TDA Sport trying to grow the way
in which sports journalism is done in Australia as well
and highlighting types of stories like the ones that we've
discussed today exactly and If.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You want more tea sport, you can sign up to
our newsletter that comes out every afternoon. There'll be a
link in the episode description.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's all from us, though. We'll be back this afternoon
with your headlines. Until then, have a great day. My
name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung
Kalkotin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that
this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl
people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait
(10:29):
island and nations. We pay our respects to the first
peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.