PARIS (AFP) - Marseille midfielder Joey Barton has been ordered to appear at a disciplinary hearing on April 15 after insults on Twitter directed at Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva caused a storm.

Paris Foot Gay, an amateur club with a large number of gay players who campaign against homophobia in football and society as a whole, complained to France's Professional Football League after Barton called Brazil defender Silva an "a overweight ladyboy" on Twitter on Wednesday.

The matter has since been passed on to the Conseil National de l'Ethique, which has the power to hand the Englishman a suspension for remarks that have been taken very seriously in France.

PSG issued a statement on Wednesday evening describing Barton's words as "unacceptable".