Former England international Joey Barton has become embroiled in a fresh feud with his ex-Queens Park Rangers team-mate Yossi Benayoun over the Middle East crisis.
The Maccabi Haifa playmaker and the outspoken midfielder patched up their differences last month after a war of words on Twitter, but today Benayoun once again took exception to Barton’s comments regarding Israel’s hostilities with Hamas, an Islamist militant group running the Gaza Strip.
Benayoun captained his new side in their friendly against Lille in Austria in July but it had to be abandoned when pro-Palestinian protesters invaded the pitch and attacked players.
When Barton used explicit terms to describe organised religion, Benayoun said: “Why I’m not surprise about your ‘lovely’ words? I have no intention to argue with you on Twitter.”
His old colleague hit back, saying: “You have my number. Be a man and use it if you’re not happy about something. Don’t be a keyboard warrior, it doesn’t suit you.”
Benayoun replied: “No-one want that any civilians from both side get hurt but unfortunately we are fighting against terror organization.
“And we must defend our lovely country!! I wish u all the best for this season and warm regards to your family.”
Barton did not let the issue go, adding: “Your ‘beautiful’ country is killing on average 1 innocent child every hour! As a father how can you condone that?”