Joey Barton just wants the Celtic supporters who have been giving him grief on social media to “go away.”
Barton and Celtic fans have not had the best relationship these past few years.
Having initially claimed to support the Hoops, Barton quickly ended up in the bad books on the green side of Glasgow after deciding to sign for arch-rivals Rangers last summer.
The controversial midfielder wasted no time in endearing himself to his new side’s supporters by trolling Celtic, mocking Scott Brown and predicting that he would dominate the Scottish Premiership.
We all know now that Barton’s time in Scotland wasn’t as memorable as he would have hoped and he left Rangers in unceremonious circumstances following a suspension over a training ground row.
As he serves his ban for breaking rules concerning betting on matches following a brief second spell at Burnley, Barton has been considerably more active on social media and, on Friday, he received plenty of abuse from Hoops fans when he posted a bizarre response to a Celtic supporter on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Joey7Barton/status/923626066081611776
Barton then distanced himself from any controversy by explaining what he meant by the above in a lengthy monologue.
Seems I have upset a section of the Celtic fans. Think you have misread my comment back. I've never heard of any child abuse at Celtic. (1)
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) October 27, 2017
I was simply stating that the guy shouldn't put my kids and Celtic in the same sentence because Celtic fans like to claim, I'm a Celtic fan.
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) October 27, 2017
Which I'm not. Neither are my kids. Other than going to RC school as a kid and being bought a Celtic jersey as a kid by my gran.
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) October 27, 2017
I was also bought Milan, Barca, Dortmund, PSV Eindhoven jerseys amongst others. This isn't in my eyes being a fan. It's being a kid.
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) October 27, 2017
To jump to me making jokes about child abuse. I've never heard or read of any child abuse at Celtic. How could I make a joke about it?
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) October 27, 2017
Well Barton must have received plenty of stick over the weekend as he has taken to social media to ask to be left alone.
The 35-year-old has issued a succinct statement on Twitter requesting that Celtic fans “go away”.
Just going on record to say Celtic fans are obsessed with me on here. Leave me alone. I don't care about you or your club. Go away.
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) October 29, 2017
We don’t imagine they will listen.
