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Joey Barton up in court yet again – ‘Assault by beating’ his wife is the charge this time

3 years ago
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Joey Barton back in the headlines.

With the new season only a couple of weeks away, the Bristol Rovers manager has been charged with assault by beating after a woman suffered a head injury.

Joey Barton to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Monday (26 July 2021).

The charge relating to an incident that took place at a residential property in Kew (London) on Wednesday 2 June.

The Metropolitan Police statement reads:

“Joseph Barton, 38 (2.9.82), of Widnes, is due to appear on bail on Monday, July 26 at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court charged with assault by beating.

“The charge relates to an incident which took place at a residential property in Kew on Wednesday, June 2 in which a woman received a head injury. London Ambulance Service did not attend.

“A 38-year-old man was arrested on June 2, bailed pending further enquiries, and subsequently charged.”

The news has been published across the media on Sunday with the likes of The Sun and The Mirror reporting that it is Joey Barton’s wife who was the victim of the alleged assault.

Obviously no stranger to English courts, the timing of the new alleged assault is interesting.

Joey Barton was arrested on Wednesday 2 June 2021 and then only five days later, he went on trial on Monday 7 June 2021 at Sheffield Crown Court, the former Newcastle United midfielder appearing in court in relation to an incident that happened in April 2019.

Barton having previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The then Fleetwood Town boss alleged to have pushed the then Barnsley manager, Daniel Stendel, in the tunnel after a game, causing damage to a tooth.

However, after having helped to delay the trial until 26 months after the alleged incident, the Covid situation struck again.

Stendel was appearing via video link from Germany because he was unable to travel over from Germany due to Covid restrictions.

The judge though stopping the trial and discharging the jury due to ‘technical difficulties’, as well as issues with the translation of Stendel’s evidence and his understanding of what was happening during the trial hearing.

Judge Richardson saying the trial would be relisted to a time when the complainant (Daniel Stendel) could travel to Sheffield to appear in person.

That new trial date now set for 26 November, with Joey Barton on unconditional bail until then. That new date court date will be 31 months after the alleged assault took place.

After bringing proceedings to a halt on Tuesday 8 June 2021, the Judge, Jeremy Richardson QC, stated:

“Mr Stendel would have been at court with the use of an interpreter but because of the pandemic and the limits of travel, it was decided he would give evidence from a court in Germany.

“Electronic communication we have now all found out over the last 12 to 18 months has been a mixed blessing.

“The problem has been that with Mr Stendel’s evidence, he has a provincial accent that is difficult to understand.

“He was in a courtroom in Germany rather than a small room, as he might be here, and thus there is an echo. We are in a large courtroom because we need to be.

“The interpreter in your absence and the judge in the German court agreed, there have been some examples of missed understanding and mistranslation. Well, that is just not fair to the witness, Mr Barton or to you.

“As the case unfolded this morning with his [Stendel’s] evidence, I became increasingly concerned that things were getting lost in translation. He is a critical witness in this case and it is not fair to you, to Mr Barton or to him as a witness and so I put a stop to it.”

Whilst obviously the trials are yet to take place, you have to think that if Joey Barton is found guilty in either case, his future in football management must be coming into question, whilst if found guilty in both…

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