"Joseph Barton has been fined £2,000 after accepting an FA charge for commenting on the match referee after Fleetwood Town's match versus Bristol Rovers," said a statement on the FA Spokesperson Twitter account.

"His comments made during a post-match interview on Saturday 22 December 2018 were abusive and/or insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute."

Barton criticised Devon official Huxtable following a Memorial Stadium clash that saw Fleetwood striker Ched Evans sent off and 11 players booked.

"Brett needs to have a serious look at his decision-making process," Barton said after the match.

"The Bristol Rovers staff we spoke to before the game were concerned because he has been here before and caused havoc.

"We needed a good referee to control what was a very good game of football and unfortunately we didn't get it."

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