Kevin Pietersen has been blocked from Twitter following a row with Piers Morgan over whether pubs in England should have reopened.
The retired cricketer’s account has been locked – apparently for violating Twitter ’s rules against abuse and harassment – after he threatened to slap the controversial TV presenter.
In a tweet which Morgan has acknowledged as a joke, Pietersen wrote: “@piersmorgan I slap you when I see you! That won’t be nonsense!”
A screenshot of Twitter’s explanation read: “You may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone … This includes wishing or hoping that someone experiences physical harm.”
Reacting on the platform, however, Morgan called for Pietersen’s account to be reinstated: “Amusing though this is, it was an obvious joke.”
Morgan explained that “I don’t feel remotely harassed” and taunted Pietersen, saying that the batsman “can’t slap his way out of a paper bag”.
The dispute began when Morgan attacked the UK Government for the timing of their decision to loosen the coronavirus lockdown in England.
The Good Morning Britain presenter wrote: “Reopening Britain’s pubs on a sunny Saturday in July was dumb enough. Letting them open from 6am is stupefyingly stupid.
“Does anyone at No10 have a brain? Or do they just want us all to die? Serious questions.”Pietersen, who turned 40 last week, responded that he believes it is safe for pubs to open.
He tweeted: “Average age to die is around 80! Small % death rate. Stop your nonsense, fat boy!”
It was Morgan’s comeback, accusing Pietersen of talking “nonsense”, that elicited the supposedly abusive response from the ex-England star.
Pietersen – who rose to fame when England won the Ashes in 2005 and captained his country for a short spell – now describes himself as a conservationist, having been axed from England’s squad under controversial circumstances in 2014.
Morgan, an outspoken sports fan, was a prominent defender of Pietersen at the time.
