PFA chief: Joey Barton "deserves to be heavily sanctioned"

QPR training staff take Joey Barton off the pitch after his red card. Credit: PA

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association has strongly condemned QPR captain Joey Barton following his sending off during Sunday's game at Manchester City.

The midfielder was shown a red card for elbowing Carlos Tevez, but he then kicked Sergio Aguero and appeared to headbutt Vincent Kompany before he was escorted off the pitch. After the game, Barton posted a comment on Twitter saying he had tried "take 1 of theirs with me".

Gordon Taylor said: "If you come out with stuff like that you are going to deserve to be heavily sanctioned."

"He is his own worst enemy when he says stuff like that and he has been upsetting a lot of people in the game with good reputations.

"We try to deal with Joey Barton and it is not getting any easier.

"The Football Association has already begun disciplinary proceedings. Barton has until midday today to decide whether to appeal two charges of violent conduct which could land him with a 10-match ban if he is found guilty. However, he has tried to get away from the furore - yesterday, he tweeted that he had gone on holiday to Portugal.