Football bad-boy Joey Barton’s most shocking moments, from fighting teammates and cigar attack to spending time in jail

JOEY BARTON is no stranger to controversy.

And the bad boy of football, 41, has put his foot in it once again – but with his mouth and not one of his famous crunching tackles.

Joey Barton is in trouble again for slamming female football pundits

Reuters

Alex Scott has been caught in the crossfire of Barton’s attack[/caption]

PA:Empics Sport

Barton has never been afraid to speak his mind, and has often courted controversy[/caption]

Sexist Barton’s latest misdemeanour saw BBC Sport TV presenter and pundit Alex Scott caught in the crossfire.

The former Man City midfielder said Scott “SHOULDN’T commentate on the men’s game” in a rant on X, formerly known as Twitter.

His tirade included saying that women commentating on men’s football was the same as him “talking about knitting or netball” – and called those who disagreed with him “eunuchs” and “fart parcels”.

Barton then appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV to defend his comments and insisted Scott isn’t qualified enough to talk about the men’s game because she hasn’t played in it.

When quizzed about her commentating he said, “she hasn’t played in it”. 

“One is 200 years old and one is about 40 years old… it’s the same rules but football is about a lot more than rules… The games are at two different speeds,” he said in his rant.

Barton said it was the same as him commentating on Formula One just because he can drive a car.

He went on to say that great commentators would be overlooked if we were bowing down to tokenism. 

Piers also asked him if he could comment on World Cup football and Champions League if he hadn’t played in either category.

Barton said: “I don’t care where you’re from or how many games you’ve played, but you have to have a body of work that  is credible to get you there… the world has gone crazy.”

The former Bristol Rovers boss has since been slammed by TNT Sports presenter Laura Woods on social media.

While Alex Scott shared an Instagram story laughing off his rant with an unknown colleague.

It’s not the first time Barton hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind or has been unable to control his temper on and off the pitch.

OUSMANE DABO INCIDENT

One of Barton’s most infamous acts was a training ground fight with former teammate Ousmane Dabo, which saw the hardman midfielder hit with a six-match ban by the Football Association in 2008.

He was also given a four-month suspended sentence after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm after Dabo was left with cuts and bruises as well as a detached retina.

The Frenchman was distraught revealing he felt he was left looking like the “Elephant Man” after the attack.

The 30-year-old told The Sun: “When I woke up this morning I looked at myself in the mirror with my face all swollen up and I looked like the Elephant Man.

“I’ve never known anything like this before in my career.”

Incredibly, on Robbie Fowler’s podcast years later he offered Dabo the opportunity to get revenge in the ring for a charity boxing fight.

Ray Bradbury

Barton has offered Dabo, who was left with a detached retina in their scuffle, revenge in a charity boxing match[/caption]

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY

With the booze flowing to celebrate the festivities at Manchester City’s Christmas party, there was plenty of opportunity for footballers to behave badly.

But Barton did more than that.

After youth star James Tandy thought it would be hilarious to set Barton’s shirt on fire, the tempestuous bad boy was filled with rage.

He retaliated by stubbing a lit cigar in Tandy’s eye, which resulted in a fine of six weeks’ wages and an apology to despondent boss Kevin Keegan.

PA:Press Association

When he was a Man City player, Barton was fined six weeks’ wages for stubbing a cigar out on youth player James Tandy[/caption]

DOING TIME

In 2008, Barton was sentenced to six months behind bars for common assault and affray during an incident in Liverpool City Centre.

The incident didn’t leave Barton in the best light – punching a man 20 times and breaking a teenager’s teeth.

CCTV captured the fight, and with the once-capped England star already on bail over an allegation of criminal damage involving a Liverpool taxi driver and THAT fight with Dabo, the book was thrown at him.

Barton was convicted of assault and served 77 days in prison.

Enterprise News and Pictures

CCTV caught Barton throwing punches[/caption]

AFP - Getty

Barton was sentenced to six months in prison[/caption]

Barton’s brother’s shame

Joey’s brother Michael was jailed for life, alongside his cousin Paul Taylor for the 2005 murder of 18-year-old Anthony Walker.

Astonishingly, Barton reduced the brutal racist attack as a “scrap”.

In a promotional clip for a podcast, Barton blamed Taylor for the July 29 killing in Merseyside.

He said Michael – moved to an open prison last year – “lost 17 years of his life” thanks to his cousin’s actions.

Barton added: “His mate, who was his cousin at the time, thought it would be a fantastic idea, when they were having a f*****g scrap, to pull an ice axe out and swing it into somebody and it stuck in his head.”

The Anthony Walker Foundation, founded by his mum Gee Walker, said Barton’s comments were “factually incorrect”.

Michael Barton was jailed for life for the murder of Anthony Walker

REALITY BITES

It’s fair to say Barton isn’t a fan of reality TV, especially if it’s TOWIE.

He first called the cast “freaks”, which prompted a response from Mark Wright and James Argent who were miffed by Barton’s comments.

And Joey didnt stop there. “TOWIE firm don’t mess with big boys, u and ur shallow, fake, pretentious lifestyles. In a year u’ll be opening s**tty poundshops if ur lucky,” he wrote.

“I actually despise the whole of that firm, mentally deficient, turn up at the opening of an envelope, fame hungry, prized ball bags. #TOWIE”

That prompted the TOWIE lot to send Barton a photo suggesting he had a small penis, swore at him and said he was “jel” of their success.

Action Images - Reuters

Reaity TV show TOWIE isn’t on Barton’s watchlist[/caption]

Mercury Press Agency

The TOWIE cast sent Barton a nasty message on Twitter after he slammed the show[/caption]

A 12-GAME BAN

The stakes were high going into the last Premier League game of the season in 2012 between Barton’s QPR and title-chasing Manchester City.

Joey didn’t help his teams’ cause surviving relegation though, after he was sent off for elbowing Carlos Tevez in the throat.

He also kicked out at Sergio Aguero, before a red card was shown AND squared up to Vincent Kompany and Mario Balotelli as he left the pitch.

Barton was suspended for 12 games by the FA following the incident.

Getty Images - Getty

Barton lost his cool against Man City and was sent off[/caption]

Getty Images - Getty

And Barton didn’t leave the pitch quietly, kicking out at Sergio Aguero and scuffling with Vincent Kompany[/caption]

FIGHT OF THE DAY

On Match of the Day the evening of the above disgrace, pundits Alan Shearer, Alan Hansen and Gary Lineker slammed Barton for his behaviour against Manchester City.

Not happy with Shearer’s assessment, Barton took to Twitter.

He wrote: “I’d take it off Hansen and @GaryLineker but not from that bell, same fella that stamped on Neil Lennon,then threatened FA if they banned him.”

He added: “I really don’t like that p****, in fact I honestly despise him… Goodnight.”

Lineker later stood up for Shearer responding: “Still raging then? Still kicking out? And still, presumably, misunderstood? But only by yourself I suspect.”

Hilariously, Barton replied to Lineker’s note calling him an “odious little toad”.

A BUM NOTE

It’s fair to say through the years, Barton was a target for rival fans.

And in a game against Everton playing for Manchester City, the local boy got all sorts of abuse.

However, it didn’t call for this sort of reaction – exposing his bare bum towards abusers.

He was fined for the incident, and a police investigation was called.

Barton shows off his bare bum to Everton fans at Goodison Park

MELLOW MANAGER? NO CHANCE

Not even management mellowed Barton.

Just ask ex-Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel – who the former Fleetwood Town boss allegedly headbutted and punched during an altercation in the tunnel of a League One match.

Stendel lost two teeth in the fight, after reportedly calling Barton a “f****** scally”.

Ex-Barnsley striker Cauley Woodrow was particularly incensed.

He said in a now deleted tweet after the game: “To have a manager that can physically assault another manager in the tunnel is disgusting, causing our manager to have blood pouring from his face!

“People like you don’t deserve a place in the game of football, you are foul.”

Rex Features

Barton faces off against Daniel Stendel after Barnsley’s match with Fleetwood Town[/caption]

PA:Empics Sport

Daniel Stendel was allegedly headbutted and punched by Barton in the tunnel after the game[/caption]

QUESTION TIME

Barton has been called sexist before, following an amazing appearance on BBC’s political show Question Time back in 2014.

Astonishingly, he called the options available to the electorate in last week’s polls were like a choice “between four really ugly girls”.

He was appearing after he called Ukip the “best of a bad bunch”.

Barton’s comments drew jeers from the studio audience, while former UKip MEP for North West England, Louise Bours said: “What an offensive thing to say.”

In this instance, he appeared to take the criticism on the chin. “Maybe I was a little nervous … My brains are in my feet,” he retorted.

On Question Time Joey Barton caused controversyBBC