Fans have condemned Joey Barton for his stinging criticism of BBC SPOTY winner Mary Earps.
Earps won the top prize at a special ceremony in Salford, Manchester, finishing ahead of Stuart Broad and Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Barton initially congratulated Earps on social media.
However, he then performed a U-turn and condemned the decision to give the award to the England and Manchester United goalkeeper.
Joey Barton hasn't held back after Mary Earps won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award
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He said: "To win before Ronnie O’Sullivan and Frankie Dettori…?
"Well, that’s just madness to me.
"Both almost genius like in their respective fields.
"They’ve lost to a big sack of spuds that plays in goal for a girls team.
"That’s the world we live in. This all started with the ‘Everyone’s a Winner’ sport’s days.
"This is what happens when you celebrate mediocre. You breed this weak culture. A culture of losers.
"A culture of snowflakes."
Barton then proceeded to double down on his comments amid a tidal wave of criticism, adding: "I’d score 100 out of 100 penalties against Mary Earps.
"Any day of the week. Twice on a f***ing Sunday."
Yet Barton's comments have sparked a fierce backlash, with supporters on social media raging against the former Manchester City, QPR and Newcastle star.
"You couldn't score 100 out of 100 against an open goal," ranted one user.
"Remember that penalty you put over the crossbar against Villa … and the missed one against Deportivo La Coruna.. I don’t think I’m buying this made up theory of yours," fumed a second.
A third fan challenged Barton, saying: "Why not take the penalties, and if you lose, donate the money to charity?"
A fourth echoed those comments, adding: "Every penalty missed is a grand to charity. Over comic relief or something like that."
A fifth branded Barton 'obsessed', saying: "Alright calm down who cares your obsessed man."
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Joey Barton has been blasted by football fans for his criticism of BBC SPOTY winner Mary Earps
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And a sixth ranted: "Let’s get this arranged. I think you’d miss the target at least 20 times."
Earps, meanwhile, admitted she'd use the festive period to reflect on her sensational victory.
She said: “I am going to try this Christmas to get some time to reflect and think about it all.
“It has been an incredible couple of years and I just feel really, really grateful to have been given an opportunity to fulfil my wildest dreams.
"It is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I cannot believe I am standing up here – and I had a long walk in this dress and these heels.
Mary Earps beams on the red carpet after winning the top prize at the BBC SPOTY awards
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"It’s a bit ridiculous.
“I think what I’ve learned over the last couple of years is you’ve got to show a lot of resilience in life, a lot of character.
“It’s never easy. We all go through hard times.
"And in whatever walk of life we’re in, I think football is a vehicle, and we can all change the world in some small way.
"So that’s kind of what I’m trying to do.”
