Joey Barton launches Twitter attack on PFA chief

Joey Barton has launched a scathing attack on PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor and called for his resignation.

The Marseille midfielder criticised Taylor over his track record of tackling racism in football following the news that a number of black players are considering starting a breakaway union.

"My gut feeling [on the breakaway union] is thats it's a opportunistic move by some with hidden agendas to cease control for their own gains," Barton wrote on Twitter.

"Gordon Taylor, one of the highest paid union bosses in the world, has got it to easy. I concur its time for him to go. Maybe the Union leader should be democratically voted for every few years by the union members?

"Anything's better than breaking away. That should only be the final resort in my opinion."

Barton went on to describe the PFA chief as a "fat, festering old king" who is "drunk on power or wine" and called for him to step down.

He added: "Taylor's got too fat an greedy. And protects his cushy position but there are some good people within the PFA. Think? Taylor's like a fat, festering old king. Too drunk on power or wine to notice that his meal is a rotting corpse of maggots. Time to go GT."

Rio and Anton Ferdinand have been particularly critical of the PFA's anti-racism efforts and recently issued a statement questioning the effectiveness of the Kick It Out campaign.