Joey Barton has defended ex-Republic of Ireland international Glenn Whelan after becoming entangled in a spat with a fan on Twitter.
Barton had tweeted criticism of the officiating standards in League 1 when an irate Portsmouth fan fired back a stinging reply to the ex-England international.
Barton's criticism focussed upon an incident in his Bristol Rovers sides defeat to Lincoln City at the weekend where an elbow from Lewis Montsma went unpunished. His tweet read,
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"Don’t get me started on officials. If you think it’s poor at the top, you should see it down here in League One. Nothing given for the elbow from Montsma on Connolly. No offside given when 4 opposition clearly offside and heads at goal. Our player sent off for armpit contact."
This provoked a response from a Portsmouth fan who recalled then Bristol Rovers player Glenn Whelan's challenge that resulted in Pompey's Louis Thompson breaking his leg last year.
"Shut up you *****, one of your players broke a Pompey’s players leg in two places and you said it was a fair challenge. Stop preaching what you teach #pompey "
With uncharacteristic calm and composure Barton responded with "One of my players? You mean 92 international caps, Glenn Whelan. It was a fair tackle James. We play a contact sport. Not sure which game you play. Accidents happen."
Joey Barton is well-known for his Twitter exchanges where he regularly interacts with fans and journalists. His account boasts some 2.8M followers.
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