Joey Barton guilty of kicking wife in the head

Former footballer Joey Barton has been found guilty of assault by beating after pushing his wife to the floor and kicking her in the head.

The midfielder, 42, who played for Manchester City and QPR, assaulted Georgia Barton, 38, in June 2021 during a drunken row at their family home in Kew, south-west London.

The pair, who had been drinking with two other couples while their children slept upstairs started arguing after Barton threatened to fight his wife's brother and father, Westminster Magistrates' Court previously heard.

Barton, who was the manager of Bristol Rovers at the time, was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence.

Mrs Barton was left with a lump on her forehead and a bleeding nose, the court previously heard.

She had called police immediately after the attack, saying her husband had "just hit" her, but later sent a letter to the prosecution retracting her allegations.

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring rejected Barton's account of events and described them as "vague" as he convicted him.

While he acknowledged Barton had "a record of violence", the magistrate said: "I am satisfied that it is not necessary to impose an immediate custodial sentence."

Mr Goldspring said a mitigating factor was that the couple remained in a "happy relationship" with a young child, adding: "That is not something I want to interfere with."

Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Barton said he was "really disappointed" with the magistrates' verdict and intended to appeal to decision at the High Court.

Prosecution barrister Helena Duong told the court Mrs Barton's 999 call to police on the night of the assault was "compelling evidence", as she had described it in "clear terms".

Ms Duong said Mrs Barton's bloody nose was "an injury that really requires an explanation", adding: "It was, plainly, something not caused by an accident."

Barton previously told the court he admitted getting into an argument with his wife, but denied that anything "physical" had happened.

He was arrested in his bedroom on the night of the incident, where he had been asleep and was still drunk, the trial was told.

The former footballer was due to face trial at a magistrates' court in 2022 but the case was adjourned after Mrs Barton sent a letter retracting her allegations.

In the letter, she said her injuries had been caused by accident when a friend moved in to separate the pair.

A judge ordered that proceedings be paused over concerns a trial would be unfair to Barton after the prosecution said they did not plan to ask Mrs Barton to give evidence in court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Parkinson, appealed against the decision at the High Court in London, with barristers claiming at a hearing that a fair trial could go ahead.

In a judgment in June, two senior judges ruled in the DPP's favour and said Barton should face a trial over the allegations in front of a different judge.

Barton was also ordered to pay £2,183 in victim surcharge and prosecution costs within seven days.

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