Wednesday 4 January 2017 12:46, UK
A semi-professional footballer has apologised for posting "disgraceful comments" on Twitter to Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter over his stillborn daughter.
The Football Association will investigate the tweets from an account in the name of Alfie Barker, which were sent to Arter after Arsenal came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
Barker, who has been playing on loan for Codicote Town of Spartan South Midlands League Division One, has been sacked by his club Hitchin Town.
One of the messages said: "atleast 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 childs birth."
Bournemouth and Arter became aware of the offensive posts following the match and reported them directly to Twitter.
The FA has confirmed it will seek Barker's observations in relation to the postings from his social media account.
The offensive posts were deleted on Wednesday with Barker issuing 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..."
A second message then added: ".. from the bottom of my heart."
A statement released by Hitchin Town read: "The club adopts a responsible approach to social media and would expect any player connected to Hitchin Town to do likewise.
"In the light of the player's irresponsible and anti-social behaviour, we are terminating Alfie Barker's registration and relationship with the club with immediate effect."
Barker replaced his Twitter profile picture with just a black screen and his bio to simply a single full stop.
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.
