Bend It Like Beckham Was A Classic Soccer Movie – With One Very Worrying Relationship

In nan projected upcoming sequel to nan “feel good”, “uplifting” movie Bend It Like Beckham (one of nan Guardian’s best movies astir football), a starring characteristic has been banned from nan crippled for life. At slightest that’s what could, and probably should beryllium revealed, preferably arsenic early arsenic possible.

Seem dramatic? It isn’t. Though Bend It Like Beckham brilliantly tackles issues astir racism, gender norms, homophobia, culture, immigration, and feminism pinch an endearing comedic twist, a halfway constituent of nan crippled rests connected an big coach pursuing a romanticist narration pinch a teenage player. In 2025, aft aggregate high-profile instances of inappropriate player/coach relationships person been reported successful women’s soccer, and aft nan harm inherent successful those relationships has been exposed, nan normalization of 1 successful a celebrated movie is difficult to ignore.

For those who came successful late, Bend It Like Beckham tells nan communicative of Jess (Parminder Nagra) and Jules (Keira Knightley), 2 London precocious schoolers who emotion soccer. Jules has talent, plays for a seemingly high-level section squad (Hounslow Harriers), and dreams of playing assemblage shot successful nan United States.

Jess, too, loves soccer, has talent, and pins posters of David Beckham connected her chamber wall. Jess is from a mediate people Punjabi family and must meet nan added situation of overcoming her family’s first reluctance for her to prosecute shot pinch nan Harriers and, eventually, a assemblage profession successful nan US.

Narrative conflict betwixt Jess and Jules erupts erstwhile nan girls recognize they’re infatuated pinch nan aforesaid man – their charming coach, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who would beryllium adjacent to a decade older than nan girls.

“Do you for illustration him?” Jess asks Jules.

“Nah,” responds Jules. “He’d get sacked if he was caught shagging 1 of his players.”

So location is astatine slightest immoderate consciousness of nan problem here. And yet …

Later successful nan film, nan girls’ squad travels to a tourney successful Germany, wherever they are invited to a nightclub by their opponents. There appears to beryllium small supervision of nan young players by anyone isolated from Joe, Rhys-Myers’ character. The coach seems successful his constituent connected nan dancefloor aft a fewer drinks, dancing pinch nan players supposedly successful his care. It’s evident Joe desires Jess, moreover though nan nightclub contains hundreds of perchance consenting adults for him to prosecute for post-game shenanigans if that was his goal. But no. Jess is his target.

Outside nan club, Joe and Jess are prevented from taking nan narration to different level – not by a abrupt realization that nan powerfulness move is disconnected nan rails, but alternatively erstwhile they’re interrupted by Jules, who spots nan brace and yells “You bitch!” astatine Jess.

“Nothing happened,” Jess later explains to her older sister.

“You make judge it doesn’t, alright?” her sister responds. The rumor for Jess’s sister, though, is that nan coach is white, alternatively than his age. Jess perchance being groomed by her coach isn’t discussed arsenic a imaginable problem.

These are each straightforwardly problematic situations to today’s eyes. It’s jarring to spot them fundamentally ignored. It’s imaginable nan husband-and-wife penning squad of Gurinder Chadha (who besides directed) and Paul Mayeda Berges were simply being prescient astir what was to beryllium revealed astir women’s shot complete nan adjacent 2 decades aliases so. Similar issues really were swept nether nan rug by a batch of group that should person known better. If nan sequel is likewise religious to its era of release, it’s going to beryllium must-see (and not astatine each benignant to Coach Joe).

In nan original film, which was released successful 2002, Jess and Jules are recruited to play for Santa Clara University successful California. If we instrumentality pinch nan original timeline, and existent life parallels, Santa Clara will beryllium convention champions successful 2003, 2004, and 2006 featuring those players developed and coached backmost successful England. The squad will make nan NCAA last 4 successful 2004. The London girls whitethorn brushwood Aly Wagner, a 2002 Santa Clara postgraduate who would spell connected to play for nan US women’s nationalist team. They’d beryllium teammates pinch Jordan Angeli, who went connected for a pro profession successful nan NWSL and is now a well-known commentator.

After they graduate, they whitethorn besides yet meet a talented Santa Clara enlistee named Meleana “Mana” Shim who will later play successful nan NWSL – and speak retired against her erstwhile coach Paul Riley for his alleged inappropriate behaviour pinch players. Jess and Jules whitethorn yet publication the 2021 Yates Report that elaborate Shim’s acquisition astatine Portland Thorns wherever Riley made “persistent and unwanted advances and his retaliation against her,” aliases an soul study from nan Thorns that explained really nan coach: “sent ‘inappropriate texts’,’ served intoxicant to players, invited ‘a subordinate to his edifice room,’ and danced ‘with a subordinate and touch[ed] her while doing so,’ among different things.”

Maybe, now respective years later successful nan timeline, nan Hounslow Harriers players would spot immoderate parallels pinch their ain experience. Perhaps they’ll study Joe’s behaviour – including excessive reward for Jess connected nan training ground, having made her tally capable to aggravate an injury. Not that nan nine – aliases section shot associations aliases confederations – would salary attraction to nan complaints. That is simply a communicative that could beryllium pulled consecutive from existent life headlines.

Believe it aliases not, I’m not trying to cancel Bend it Like Beckham, aliases its sequel. The original movie should proceed to beryllium celebrated – for reasons it already has been, and besides arsenic an exquisite story-of-its-time illustration of really maltreatment successful athletics thrives successful plain sight.

“It’s OK,” Joe tells Jess, who has conscionable graduated from precocious school, arsenic Bend It Like Beckham heads toward its conclusion. “I’m not your coach anymore. We tin do what we want.”

You ever could, Joe.