Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton has brought the matter into the spotlight this week after Newcastle offered him on a free transfer in the wake of his continue criticism of the club on the social networking site. Newcastle have reportedly issued legal letters to players, stating they will potentially be in breach of their contracts if they use sites such as Twitter. Media and defamation specialist Andrew Terry of international law firm Eversheds believes Newcastle have made a sensible move. "This policy recognises the reality that disclosures in social media can cause just as much reputational damage as a front-page headline," he said. "The added risk is that Twitter statements are very often sent in the heat of the moment and regretted shortly afterwards. "So this is a sensible precaution but the real difficulty will be making sure that everyone has the same understanding of what is covered by 'club affairs' and what isn't." However, Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor believes it is vital for the football world to get its "head around" Twitter. Taylor does not believe a club-wide ban is the way forward and has called for the relevant bodies to try to embrace the site. "Every person has got the right to speak in public so long as it is their own point of view and it does not reflect badly on their employers, the game or other personalities in the game," he said. "If it is defamatory then it can then be used against that person in a legal manner for compensation and so this is an issue that we really need to get our heads around and try to get a criteria that is comfortable for everyone. "It is not necessarily good enough to say: 'no, we don't have it at all'. "I think in the short term a number of clubs have done that rather than risk perhaps one of their young players or even a senior player - or an aggrieved player - coming out with stuff that is not conducive to team spirit or good relationships at the club." Taylor, who played as a winger in the 1960s and 1970 for the likes of Bolton, Birmingham and Blackburn, admits there are pitfalls of using Twitter but believes it can be an important medium between players and fans. "It is not an easy thing but used in the right way it can help with relationships between players and supporters," he added. "Used in the wrong way it can also cause problems at the clubs, to team-mates and other professionals in the game. "As with most things, it is about everything on its merit and it is a question of proportionality."
