The former manager, who was sacked by Bristol Rovers in October, claimed he would score "100 out of 100 penalties" against the England and Manchester United goalkeeper.

It was the second year running that a women's footballer picked up the coveted prize, with Earps following her teammate and Euros star Beth Mead to receive the award at a ceremony in Salford, Manchester.

Barton initially tweeted: "Well done Mary."

But he followed that up with a tweet saying: "Sports Personality of the Year! More f****** nonsense. Well done to all involved."

He added: "So the best sports person this year is… A Women Goalie.

"Lost in a couple of finals this year. Not won a sausage. So popular that Nike didn't even sell a replica jersey before tournament. You telling me all those who jumped on that bandwagon, haven't voted in the BBC nonsense?

"Good luck to Mary. Hope she makes a few quid."

It comes after Earps, 30, said she believed Nike now knows it was an "injustice" not to sell her shirt during the World Cup, which saw England lose to Spain in the final.

After mounting pressure, the sports brand released the England goalkeeper's green long-sleeved Lionesses shirt only for it to sell out in five minutes.

Earps' victory in the awards was widely celebrated, with the Prince of Wales, who is president of the Football Association, tweeting: "Hugely well deserved, Mary. Congratulations! W"

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'This is what happens when you celebrate mediocre'

But Barton, who was condemned earlier this month after saying women are not "qualified" to speak about men's football, insisted snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan or jockey Frankie Dettori should have won the award instead.

"To win before Ronnie O'Sullivan and Frankie Dettori…? Well, that's just madness to me," he tweeted.

"Both almost genius like in their respective fields. They've lost to a big sack of spuds that plays in goal for a girls team.

"That's the world we live in. This all started with the 'Everyone's a Winner' sport's days. This is what happens when you celebrate mediocre. You breed this weak culture. A culture of losers.

"A culture of snowflakes."

'I'd score 100 out of 100 penalties against Mary Earps'

Barton then went on to quote passages from George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984.

He followed up the quotes by resharing a video of Earps' penalty save in the World Cup final against Spain, commenting: "That's a bad penalty and she's clearly off her line very early. No retake?

"SPOTY for that! Drop me out."

He then added: "I'd score 100 out of 100 penalties against Mary Earps.

"Any day of the week. Twice on a f****** Sunday."

The England goalkeeper is yet to comment, instead posting a video on her Facebook page showing her sitting alongside two people reading a newspaper with her on the front page, but many of her supporters on social media condemned Barton's comments.