I'm of a few different opinions on this one.
On the one hand, Phil's a genius in the worst sense possible. He truly is gifted in a "Beautiful Mind" kind of way, but with that comes a complete lack of social skills. He really doesn't understand how to deal with being in the public eye, and that fucks him over time and time again.
On the other hand, Marcus Beard, the journalist in question, can be kind of a blow-hard asshole. At times he's on the money, and I don't get a sense of "fuck you just because" from him, but he does carry this air of "I can say whatever I want cause I'm British and into soccer." Which is where the blow-hard aspect comes into play.
So, I totally understand a guy like Phil stepping up and kicking the guy in the nuts, but the nut-kicking in question was uncalled for, in relation to what Marcus actually said.
At the end of the day, Phil has tantrums in public because he doesn't know how not to. I only hope this tantrum doesn't stick, because it'd break my heart if Fez 2 really did get shelved for good.
