Football stories | Joey Barton

Joey Barton’s career is full of controversial moments. He is known for being uncompromising on the pitch, but also for being a “bad boy” in his personal life. We have seen Barton being sent off many times, but we must admit he is a “fighter” on the pitch and can help Burnley avoid relegation.

However, let’s take a look at Barton’s most interesting controversies during his long career. To begin with, the first time he showed off his temper was in 2004, when he was sent off in an FA Cup match (Man City vs. Tottenham). Just a few months later, the midfielder provoked a brawl in a friendly match against Doncaster Rovers.

In December 2004, Joey threw a lit cigarette into the eye of his teammate. The result was a suspension from his club (6 weeks’ wages). Barton was also sued to pay his teammate £65 000. Then, it looked like Barton has concentrated on his performance on the pitch, when, in May 2005, the midfielder broke the leg of a pedestrian with his car…

A couple of months later, Barton was involved in a wrangle with a 15-year-old Everton’s fan, which led to another sanction from Joey’s team Manchester City. Do you think Barton had forgotten it? Of course, no! In October 2006, he showed the lowest part of his back in front of the Everton fans at Goodison Park, and he was fined by the FA.

About 6 months later, Barton was arrested for assaulting a taxi driver. However, he was found not guilty, because his cousin Joshua admitted doing it. In May 2007, Joey Barton assaulted his teammate Ousmane Dabo. As a result the midfielder was sentenced to four months in a jail.

The midfielder had a really “good time” at New Year in 2007. He spent it in the jail, after drinking during his new club’s (Newcastle United) Boxing day match and then assaulting a man near a snack bar. In May 2008, the midfielder served 74 days at Strangeways prison in Manchester.

Barton was long-term injured in 2009, and when he appeared on the pitch again, he was immediately sent off after a brutal tackle in Xabi Alonso’s legs. In November 2010, Joey punched Blackburn Rovers’ midfielder Pedersen in the face during a Premier League match.

Then, Barton started an active commenting on the social networks about everything. You can imagine what comments he has written down… To continue with, when Joey was a QPR’s player in 2012, he was again sent off for headbutting Bradley Johnson of Norwich City. And that’s not all! He was underperforming against Liverpool in a league match and was booed by the QPR fans. The angry midfielder attacked the supporters after the game.

In May 2012, Barton was banned for 12 games for being sent off against Manchester City. He elbowed Carlos Tevez and headbutted Kompany…

Several months later Barton was sent on loan at Marseille. He called PSG’s captain Thiago Silva an “overweight ladyboy”, which made his new team apologise to their rivals. However, during his spell in France, Barton was only spent off once!

It looked like he has finally stopped doing silly things, but in 2016, when he was at Rangers, he was charged for breaking the rules and gambling on football matches. Actually, Barton has placed about 1200 bets in the past decade.

Now, the midfielder is a Burnley player, and he immediately showed a great impact on The Clarets, scoring the winning goal against Southampton on his debut a couple of days ago. I am wondering what is he doing next?