Gay football team make bid for Joey Barton
East End Phoenix football club have taken advantage of the transfer window by making a bid for pro-gay footballer Joey Barton.
Tweeting the star footballer, players from the East End Phoenix Football Club made a transfer offer that was is a little less extravagant than Barton may be used to.
As part of the transfer package, Barton, 32, would enjoy free pints at the Old Ship Pub each Sunday – and would never need to wash out his gym bag.
Club Chairman – and stand-in goalkeeper – Niall Dumigan, said he was “cautiously optimistic” of a positive response from Barton’s representatives.
“I think we have tabled a very fair offer under the circumstances. The lads hate having to wash the kit every week, and there’s always a fight over who will end up with it.
“Joey has a lot of fans at East End Phoenix ever since he bravely stood up against homophobia in football three years ago. He’s probably the most high-profile straight ally we have in the sport, so I think he’d fit in well with the squad.”
Barton has a long history of supporting LGBT rights – he has backed Stonewall’s rainbow laces campaign – in which laces are sent to every premiership footballer and professional club – for two years in a row.
Last year, he also led his former team QPR in their commitment to the “Football V Homophobia” campaign, and in 2013 accused FIFA “of not taking a tough enough stance to make this issue go away”.
However, he is arguably as well known for his controversial comments as he is for his impressive ball skills – he found himself in hot water after sending tweets to Brazilian player Thiago Silva calling him a “transsexual ladyboy”.
He wrote: “2 questions for Thiago Silva. Firstly, Why are YOU talking about ME, in your press conference before PSG v Barca? Very strange.”
“Secondly, Are you Pre-Op or Post-Op? #transsexual #thiagosaladyboy”
