Joey Barton to appear before French FA committee following transphobic tweets

Joey Barton is due to appear before the French Football Association’s (FFA) ethical committee over a string of comments – including some of a transphobic nature – he made on Twitter about a rival player.

The Queens Park Rangers midfielder, currently playing for French side Olympique de Marseilles, described Thiago Silva as an “overweight ladyboy” earlier this month.

He also tweeted: “Secondly, Are you Pre-Op or Post-Op? #transsexual #thiagosaladyboy.”

Silva’s club, Paris Saint-Germain, said the comments were “unacceptable”, while Marseille apologised for the “inappropriate” posts.

Barton has over two million followers on Twitter.

Sky News reports Barton has been ordered to stop his personal attacks on the Brazilian international.

The two players were engaged in a vicious war of words.

Barton has been summoned to face the FFA committee today and could receive a ban over his comments.

In 2012, Barton criticised the “archaic” nature of homophobic football managers in a BBC documentary.

He is at Marseille on a season-long loan from Premier League side QPR.

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