Former Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Newcastle United midfielder Gavin Peacock has been accused of sexism following his posts on Twitter concerning marriage.

The 47-year-old, who quit his work as a pundit on BBC to become a pastor in Calgary, Canada, tweeted on January 5, "Wives: one of the primary ways you are to respect your husband is by gladly submitting to and encouraging his leadership."

The Calvary Grace Church preacher also posted that "God's divine design for marriage in male headship and female submission is complementary not competitive."

Twitter users have lashed out at Peacock, calling his comments "outdated nonsense."

Michelle Wells, one of those who reacted to Peacock's posts, tweeted, "I've yet to meet a good leader who demands 'submission'. That sounds more like a definition of slavery."

Another Twitter user, Mof Gimmers, wrote, "Remember Gavin Peacock who played for Chelsea? He's found God and he's tweeting some DELIGHTFUL things about women."

Nigel Adderley, who used to work with Peacock, was also among those who were surprised by the former footballer's remarks.

He posted, "I used to really enjoy working with Gavin Peacock on the radio but won't be implementing his views on marriage at home."

In response to the backlash he has received, Peacock recently took to Twitter again to explain the context of his tweets. He posted a link to a blog post he created entitled "Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is Good."

He wrote, "Both men and women are of equal value in the sight of God. So the difference in roles is never a question of competency, it's always a question of God's design...

"However there is a common misunderstanding many people hold (even within the church) that equality means sameness... [Just] because a wife follows her husband's lead and respects his God given authority it doesn't make her any less of a human being."

Peacock went on to say that Christian women who "support a biblical view of masculinity and femininity" agreed with him. He said that instead of feeling oppressed, these women were "free to be who they were created to be."

As for those who view his definition of submission as slavery, Peacock wrote, "Abuse of authority is unacceptable. Slavery is deplorable. But a husband leading his wife as Christ leads the church is not slavery by any means."