Joey Barton continues to hold the reins at Bristol Rovers with a feeling of “business as usual” at The Quarters amid his controversial holocaust analogy following the Gas' defeat to Newport County on Saturday.
The manager took training on Monday in Almondsbury and is set to be in the Rovers dugout for Saturday’s League Two trip to Harrogate Town, Bristol Live understands.
The club is facing increasing scrutiny with its decision not to explain or apologise for Barton’s comments in the wake of Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Newport County now making national headlines.
Barton, bemoaning the inconsistency of his team, said in his post-match press conference : "I said to the lads during the week, the team’s almost like musical chairs.
"Someone gets in and does well but then gets suspended or injured. Someone gets in for a game, does well but then has a holocaust, a nightmare, an absolute disaster."
Bristol Live urged the club to respond in Sunday but it declined. Since then, Barton has been told to consider his position by Bristol councillor Fabian Breckels, an associate member of the Jewish Labour Movement, who labelled the remark “appalling”.
Dame Helen Hyde, a trustee of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, told the BBC his analogy showed a "lack of knowledge" and Karen Pollock, chief executive of Holocaust Educational Trust charity, added: “A bad football match is nothing like the Holocaust and this is clearly an inappropriate comparison – it is why our work is so important.”
The BBC, the Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News, the Telegraph, the Independent, Daily Mail, Talksport, The Sun and Daily Star have all since carried the story, all being told "no comment" from Rovers in the process.
His choice of language has also been widely condemned by Rovers fans across social media, with owner Wael Al-Qadi and commercial director Tom Gorringe tagged in a number of messages calling for the manager to be dismissed or, at the very least, an explanation provided.
As first reported by the Telegraph, Barton won't be subject to sanctions from the FA who have investigated the comments but deemed them to not constitute an aggravated breach of its rules.
Since taking charge in February, a theme of his tenure has been unconditional backing from owner Wael Al-Qadi, with the manager leading a series of changes behind the scenes over the summer, including at boardroom level.
Barton is scheduled to hold his traditional pre-match press conference at The Quarters on Friday before the trip to Yorkshire with the Gas 18th in League Two.
Despite Rovers poor form to start the season, Al-Qadi’s backing for Barton is yet to waver. Whether uncomfortable coverage in the national press tests his own personal resolve remains to be seen.
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