I like to call it 'The Joey Barton Coefficient'.

For only the second time in my life I'd like to personally thank Joey Barton. Or, I should say, Joseph Barton, as he doesn't like being called Joey... Even though he made his own Twitter handle include Joey... But I digress when instead I should probably be explaining why.

The first time I ever thanked him was for his support of the Hillsborough Justice campaign, which he did support to the hilt and anyone with an ounce of sensibility would, and should, thank him for.

This time, however, I thank him for a far less noble cause. I thank you, dear Joseph, for bringing to light the shockingly blasé level of transphobia which goes generally unnoticed amongst us. (Spot the real French word just for you, Joey Jo Jo Jo.)

For those of you not on Twitter, or just not knowing of JJ's existence on it, let me explain. This morning our lovely boy posted the following tweets about Thiago Silva, a fellow footballer who currently plays for the French club Paris Saint-Germain;

Now, spot the indiscretion. A word JoJo is no stranger to. Except it's far more than that. Just generally this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable and deplorable, however is unfortunately quite common on a social network like Twitter. An event I would hope this incident brings to light far more, enabling it to be dealt with in a far more effective manner than it is at this present time. Pssst, secret for you, it isn't.

However, putting these tweets in context, it becomes far worse. You see, not too long ago, Monsieur Barton took part in a nationally broadcast programme all about homophobia in football, Britain's Gay Footballers. For those who missed it, here's what he had to say for himself;

"There is no doubt in my mind that in the next 10 years we have an openly gay footballer, my only fear is that certain managers and individuals within the game will discriminate against people.
These archaic figures think if they had a gay footballer, they would have all kinds of shenanigans going on in the dressing room.

That's not the case. As I say it's more fool them and their lack of social awareness and intelligence.

I pity them a little bit that they don't have enough about them — enough self-confidence or enough self-worth — to be able to say, 'Know what? This is a relevant subject and this is my opinion on (homophobia)'.

And I think it's important that the legacy this generation of players leaves is a generation of players that help not only change the game for the better and change the teams they played in, but also change the culture and the society of the football clubs they played at."

Now, "He doesn't mention transsexuals!" I hear some of you cry. Correct, he does not. However what he does do is say a few key things.

"My only fear is that certain managers and individuals within the game will discriminate against people"

 Well that's one thing you did today Mister Barton.

"As I say it's more fool them and their lack of social awareness and intelligence."

More fool you too, Joeyboy.

"I pity them a little bit that they don't have enough about them — enough self-confidence or enough self-worth — to be able to say, 'Know what? This is a relevant subject and this is my opinion on (homophobia)'.

And I pity you for not having enough about you, enough self confidence or enough self worth on transphobia.

However, I pity him for more than that. In the same interview he said this of his own gay uncle;

"I was like, 'I love you for you — not for the fact that you are straight or bisexual or all different manner of things. I love you because you're you.' " 

Or all different manner of things. I have no doubt that he would still love his uncle if he were transsexual or transgender. Or at least I hope he would. I'm not trying to say that Joey Barton is a transphobe here, only that what he said was, and is, transphobic. However what I pity him for is that he clearly doesn't have enough about him to realise that, regardless of whether you are a transphobe or not, you do not have the right to go around saying transphobic things. It is not acceptable and it is not right.

(For those wondering why it is transphobic: 'Transphobia is an irrational fear of, and/or hostility towards, people who are transgender or who otherwise transgress traditional gender norms.'
And to use the terms transsexual/transgender as an insult, implying (or outright saying) that it is something negative or offensive to be, is an example of said hostility)

Now, at time of writing, little over an hour since said tweets have been published, nothing has happened bar a general Twitter outrage from most quarters which will, unfortunately, probably quiet down into nothing. However nothing has come from Joe either. No apology, no explanation (there isn't a suitable one anyway), and not even an attempt to delete said tweets in admission that they were wrong and shouldn't have happened.

I would like to thank Joey for bringing this kind of discrimination to light on such a public platform, and I would also like to thank him for showing himself to be no real supporter of the LGBT community and that his 'support' was clearly either fabricated for good PR (We all know he needs it) or, how you say, Ce n'est que lorsque cela lui convient (That's, 'Only when it suits',  Monsieur Barton), which isn't real support anyway.

However, I would also like to warn him.

1) We all see you for what you are, Joey. Anyone who didn't, or doesn't, will sooner rather than later.

And,

2) There'll come a day when your face and/or name in papers will turn people away from them rather than convince them to pick it up to 'See what Joey's been up to this week!', like some kind of comic strip. That time will come and I'd hedge all my bets that it'll be much sooner rather than later. Then you'll just be another washed up footballer, who excelled at little to nothing in his career, that nobody or their dog has an ounce of respect left for.

At this point I'd quite like to safeguard myself to any scathing response Joey may have to this, so just bear with me; 1) I support Liverpool FC and I'm well aware of our downfalls and failings at this time so pointing them out to me in retaliation won't hurt, and 2) No, I am not jealous of the fact you are a professional footballer that has earnt a great deal of money, far in excess of anything any sports person deserves. Even if women's football was as valuable as men's and I hadn't been overcome by my injuries, my moral compass doesn't come that cheap.

Now, if you'd like to explain and talk about your actions, you're welcome. However I expect you wont. But even if you do, I question how many people will believe it anyway. We've heard it all before.

The question is; What do we do about it? What do the FA do about it? (Both French and English). What do UEFA do about it? FIFA? The law?

It is discrimination. It is discrimination in a clear form. It is not acceptable, but it is not called to order. People aren't held accountable for their actions in regard to transphobia, but they should be. I would like to think they will be. It should be held in the same regard as homophobia and racism. Joseph Anthony Barton should be.

I hope Joseph Anthony Barton will be.

And so should you.

Not only is he setting a horrendous example as a person of note (Well someone who's name is widely recognised anyway), but he's setting a horrendous example just as a person. IT IS DISCRIMINATION.

If you do not think so, let me ask you this;

If the tweets had said, respectively; "Secondly, do you give or do you take? #homosexual #thiagosagayboy", and, "Baffles me, which way he's going. Is he the woman or the man in the relationship? Can't work it out."

Would that have been ok? So, ask yourself, how on earth can this be ok?

Footnote: You may have noticed I rarely call Joey Barton by his given, and preferred name, Joseph, in the piece. That is by design. I mean, if he wants to be that blasé about an entire community of people and their human rights, I see no reason why I shouldn't be blasé about something which is just a personal preference of his. Or does he deserve to be treated with far more respect that he ever shows others?