Accrington Stanley chairman Andy Holt has apologised for derogatory comments directed at Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy.

Holt called the Ipswich skipper a ‘s**t house’ on Twitter in the aftermath of his side’s 2-1 loss at Portman Road on Saturday, along with footage of Morsy appearing to raise his hand in the direction of Stanley midfielder Ethan Hamilton.

Morsy has ultimately been banned for four matches as a result, meaning he won’t be available to boss Kieran McKenna until the middle of February.

While insisting he ‘in no way defends Morsy’s actions’, Holt offered the Town skipper an apology for any offence caused.

He stressed he will always speak his mind, though, in a statement published during Town’s game with AFC Wimbledon last night and not mentioning Morsy by name.

“On Saturday I lost my patience and made a derogatory remark about an opposition player on my Twitter account,” Holt wrote in his statement.

“I am not for one minute defending what he did. I am however apologising for any offence and distress I may have caused him, his club or others by my public remarks.

“As a chairman of a football club (that I don’t want to be) I am allowed to have opinions. But I accept I should not voice them as I did.

“In the end, though, I am what I am. No excuses. These situations have come with the territory with me all my life.

“I didn’t want to own a football club and I am used to saying things how I see them. I do not claim to be always right. But at the time of making statements I always think I’m right.

“I hope I don’t do it again but cannot make any promises.

“That’s how I roll.”

Discussing Morsy’s ban following last night’s victory at AFC Wimbledon, Town boss Kieran McKenna said: "Look, I saw the incident live and I trust my eyes. I know you can slow things down on video and make it look different, but I saw it live from a couple of yards away, as did the fourth official, and to my eyes it was nothing malicious, nothing dangerous.

"I thought he tried to move past his marker, got a tug on the arm and he threw his arm out to shake free of his marker and he caught him on the neck. There's no danger, there's no malice, there's no intention.

"I think it's extremely harsh. I'm disappointed for Sam. He's a very important player for us, an important leader, but we can't change it now.”

Town CEO Mark Ashton said in a statement: "We are extremely disappointed with today’s decision from the regulatory commission, to which we cannot appeal.

"Losing our captain is obviously a massive blow, but myself, Kieran McKenna and the coaching staff have full belief in the rest of the squad during the period that Sam will now be unavailable to help deliver the results that we want."

Having sat out last night's win at Wimbledon, Morsy will also miss Saturday's visit to Sheffield Wednesday, as well as games with Gillingham (h) and Doncaster (a).