Joey Barton claims John Terry 'said what we were all thinking a long time ago' after having his World Cup experience 'ruined' by a female commentator... as he doubles down on view that women shouldn't comment on the men's game

Joey Barton has claimed John Terry 'said what we were all thinking' after a social media post surfaced appearing to show the ex-Chelsea defender taking issue with a female commentator working on a World Cup game.

Barton has come under fire this week after a series of rants against women working in men's football, claiming female broadcasters 'shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game'. 

His attacks have seen him take aim at BBC Football host Alex Scott while TNT presenter Laura Woods and Sky Sports reporter Bianca Westwood have called him out for his outlandish remarks.

On Saturday morning, he continued his tirade after one of Terry's past Instagram stories appeared on X.

Terry wrote on Instagram during the 2018 World Cup match between Portugal and Morocco 'Having to watch this game with no volume', which some interpreted as a dig at female commentator Vicki Sparks, who had become the first woman commentator on a men's World Cup game.

The former Chelsea captain later denied this was the case in an online video after receiving criticism from fans, insisting that he was simply having audio issues in his house that forced him to watch the match in silence.

But Barton isn't buying Terry's excuse, and believes it is an example of another ex-player having the same view as him.

He suggested that Terry may have backed down in a bid to repair his reputation with supporters after he was accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match in 2011.

He defended Terry, and stated he should have stuck to his guns rather than backing down.

'@JohnTerry26 said what we were all thinking a long time ago,' Barton wrote on X. 'Had his WC experience ruined by this tokenism and poor journalistic standards.

'Then had to pretend his tele was broken. He’s worth about £100m, captained Chelsea and England. Then had to resort to lying so the Woke Agenda stopped attacking him. 

'Would he have backed down if he didn’t have the Racist shout against Anton? 

'I don’t believe John is for a second a racist btw. I played in THAT game. JT Said something stupid in heat of battle and is tarnished forever. I wonder if @anton_ferdinand or @rioferdy5 think the same. Know them all well enough. Would love to get all 3 together. It’s about time.'

Barton started his crusade against women in the men's game on Wednesday night as he posted sexist messages on X after appearing to take offence to the number of female commentators and pundits that Amazon Prime hired for their midweek Premier League coverage.

'Barton first said: 'Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious.

'It’s a completely different game. If you don’t accept that. We will always see things differently.

'The women’s game is thriving. Fantastic to see. I cannot take a thing they say serious in the men’s arena #namaste.'

He followed that up by writing just seven minutes later: 'Any man who listens to Women commentary or co-comms needs their heads testing… #sticktoyourowngame.'

Barton wasn't finished there as he took aim at his former club Manchester City for hiring a female presenter on Thursday morning.

The former Premier League footballer posted a video on social media on Thursday morning of the presenter setting the scene ahead of the team's Champions League clash with RB Leipzig last week.

Having been irked by the 14-second clip for some reason, Barton wrote alongside it: 'I mean look at the nonsense. You give them a f***ing inch… Was going to use the hashtag #Getthemout but no doubt it will be taken out of context…

'Out the stadiums and off the concourse’s with the influencer f***ing nonsense. Men surely, enough’s enough? Someone got to say something or it won’t ever end.'

He proceeded to post another message to highlight his view that women are not being given jobs in men's football on merit.

'Of course loads of ex-top players can’t get a gig because the TV Companies have quotas to fill and boxes to tick,' he added.

'Their experience thrown on the landfill to accommodate the ‘Woke’. Only way they will change if it hits them in the pocket.

'That only Happens When the men decide to switch off. Millions mute the TV’s and that’s for some of the Men.

'TV must be going out the window if you get a double dose of XX on the comms team for your next big match.'

Barton, who has been out of work since being sacked from his role as Bristol Rovers manager in October, went on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Thursday night to explain himself further.

'I don’t want to see sexism in football, but if we don’t debate (the role of women in football broadcasting) properly, this is just going to rise and rise, and ruin the experience of watching elite-level men's football,' Barton said when asked by Morgan if the language of his social media posts had been deliberately inflammatory.

'Everywhere you turn now, there’s an unqualified opinion pontificating about the sport I love, and it’s ruining my experience - to fuel this woke agenda, and it’s going to increase sexism massively, because it has to be a true meritocracy. We have to have people who are qualified to do those roles.

'Obviously it helps to talk about the men’s game if you’ve played at a higher level, because it gives you a unique experience.

'There’s a lot of similarities between both sports, but the men’s game is played at a completely different speed, with a different skillset needed. For someone to stand there and say "I would have done this", or "He’s made a mistake" - who have no experience of that...

'It’s not just one or two, it (football broadcasting has) been taken over.

'I don’t want to come across as sexist, I’ve got a wonderful wife, wonderful daughter, grandmother.

'We want it to be diverse and inclusive, but it’s got to be credible.'

Barton's rants come despite him previously throwing his support behind the #HERGAMETOO initiative.

This is a campaign which aims to fight against sexism in sport, with Barton posing with a promotional card for the cause when he was Bristol Rovers manager.

Back in October, he also generated controversy after sharing his apparent backing for former Newcastle and England manager Kevin Keegan's comments that he doesn't enjoy female footballers talking about men's football.

At a live event in Bristol, Keegan had said: '(I don't like) listening to ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience. I have a problem with that.'

In response to that, Barton had posted on X: 'Kevin Keegan. Ballon D'or winner 1978. England manager. He's bang on.'