Reacting, rather slowly, to Manchester United's Anders Lindegaard saying football needs a "gay hero", Samuel urged Barton to come out so football can have its "gay watershed moment".
Former Toon midfielder Barton was not a happy bunny ... saying Samuel is "weird" and that he would "probably take him to court."
Martin Samuel: "Could just one footballer please come out and be gay, so everybody can be really cool about it and the sport can get on with its life? Just one, it’s not much to ask surely?"
"Until football does it will continue to be presumed that the sport has not evolved enough to handle male homosexuality.
"Joey Barton continues his quest for intellectual and social respectability. Why not come out as gay?
"Instant credibility, instant respect, untouchable by the Football Association or future employers. His past misdeeds mentally reprocessed and explained."
He then appears to have a dig at the French saying, in reference to a recent press conference in which Barton spoke with a French accent, he writes: "And, let’s face it, with that new accent, he’s probably halfway there."