Joey Barton has been spotted in the away end at the Amex Stadium watching his former club Marseille as they were beaten 1-0 by Brighton on Thursday in the Europa League.
It comes after Barton has sparked controversy in recent weeks over misogynistic comments he made about women working in men’s football.
The 41-year-old spent a season on loan with the Ligue 1 outfit between 2012 and 2013 and has previously been seen attending away matches to support his former side.
This time around though, Barton cut a more reserved figure in the crowd, sporting a blue baseball cap and a black coat as he stood among the French fans in the stadium.
Joey Barton was spotted in the away end during Brighton’s 1-0 win vs Marseille on Thursday
Barton, who played for the club between 2012 and 2013 was seen speaking with several fans
He also posed for photos with others, with the former Marseille player having previously been spotted attending away days to support the club previously
He was also seen speaking to several supporters while posing for a selfie with another.
The Englishman, who made 33 appearances for Marseille, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the game: ‘Just heading home from OM game. Not the result we wanted.’
He added: ‘Cassius leading the Ultras songs from down the front. Some club. @OM_Officiel. See you all in the Velodrome soon. Forza OM.’
Barton made headlines earlier this month after he shared a series of sexist posts on social media, stating: ‘Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious.’
‘Come on. Let’s be serious,’ Barton added, before suggesting: ‘Any man who listens to Women commentary or co-comms needs their heads testing…’
In October, Barton had also generated controversy for sharing his apparent backing of Kevin Keegan’s view that he did not enjoy female footballers talking about the men’s game.
The former Burnley, QPR and Man City midfielder, had also recently appeared on Piers Morgan’s talkshow ‘Piers Morgan: Uncensored‘, where he appeared to double down on the controversial comments.
The ex-Bristol Rovers manager said he wasn’t sexist but added that a ‘woke agenda’ was fuelling the decision to hire women as football pundits.
‘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 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.’
It comes after Barton had issued a series of controversial comments online in recent weeks
Barton had posted several comments on social media about women working in football
Barton argued that he wasn’t ‘sexist’ but that he believed in a ‘meritocracy’ instead – which he believes isn’t being carried out
Barton has previously thrown his support behind the #HERGAMETOO initiative – which aims to fight against sexism in sport
Speaking on men’s and women’s football, he added: ‘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 has also been embroiled in an argument with BBC presenter Alex Scott who seemingly hit back at his statements.
TV Sports correspondent Carrie Brown also spoke out against the former footballer’s comments, claiming ‘Barton shouldn’t be anywhere near a job in football again.’
