Hitchin Town have sacked semi-professional footballer Alfie Barker for offensive comments sent on Twitter to Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter about his stillborn daughter.
The English FA will investigate the tweets from an account in the name of Barker, which were sent to Arter after Arsenal came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Bournemouth on Tuesday night. One of the messages said: “at least you didn’t lose your kid.”
It was then followed up by another tweet to the midfielder which said: “Big hype just for a disappointment like the 9 months leading up to your child’s birth.”
Yesterday, Barker issued an apology for what he described as “disgraceful comments”.
Southern Football League Premier Division side Hitchin hold Barker’s registration, with the midfielder having been playing on loan at Langford and Codicote.
Hitchin issued a statement yesterday afternoon announcing they were “terminating Alfie Barker’s registration and relationship with the club with immediate effect”.
Hitchin manager Mark Burke told PA Sport the club would be looking into the matter when contacted yesterday morning.
The club’s subsequent statement stressed any one of their players would be expected to follow a responsible approach to social media.
“We would reiterate that Hitchin Town, as a community club with established links with various segments of the public, has been a long-time user of social media channels and expects all club stakeholders to use them appropriately,” the club statement said.
Barker scored 20 goals in 17 appearances for Codicote from an attacking forward role, including two in the 3-0 away win at Hatfield Town on New Year’s Day.
Bournemouth and Arter became aware of the offensive posts following the match and reported them directly to Twitter.
Yesterday, the offensive posts were deleted as Barker issued an apology.
He wrote: “Im sorry for every comment made, id like to apologise to harry arter and his family , for such disgraceful comments and im sorry.”
Arter has a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm which is dedicated to his daughter Renee who was stillborn on December 10, 2015.
Reports said the 27-year-old’s fiancee Rachel is currently pregnant and due to give birth to a baby girl in February.