A tearful 999 name has captured the second Joey Barton's spouse claimed the previous footballer pushed her to the ground earlier than kicking her within the head throughout a drunken row at their household residence.
Georgia Barton was left with a lump on on her brow and a bleeding nostril after the alleged assault. Mates have been pressured to intervene within the argument between the pair, pulling Barton away from his spouse, prosecutors say.
The previous Man Metropolis and QPR midfielder, 42, is accused of assaulting Georgia Barton, 38, in Kew, south-west London in June 2021, the place they’d been consuming with two different {couples} whereas their youngsters slept upstairs. The arguing had began after Barton threatened to struggle his spouse’s brother and father, Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket heard.
“There had been a verbal disagreement a couple of household matter,” prosecutor Helena Duong mentioned. Barton – who appeared in court docket sporting a darkish coat, darkish jumper, denims and glasses – “grabbed her and pushed her to the bottom and kicked her within the head”, Ms Duong mentioned.
As a good friend tried to intervene, Barton “threw” him off and mentioned “don’t disrespect me”, the trial heard. Mrs Barton known as the police shortly after 11pm to “report she had been hit by her husband”, the court docket heard.
The pair had each drunk “4 or 5 bottles of wine”, a earlier listening to was advised. In the course of the 999 name performed to the court docket, a tearful Mrs Barton advised the decision handler: “Me husband’s simply hit me in the home.
“He’s in the home, I’m exterior.” Requested if something comparable had occurred earlier than, she mentioned: “No, it’s the primary time,” including that she had been hit “within the face”.
When police arrived at round 11:30pm, Mrs Barton advised them: “I’ve been pushed down and kicked about and stuff. He mentioned he was going to struggle with my brother and my dad.”
A police officer requested Mrs Barton if she wished to make use of an ice pack for the “bump” on her head, the court docket heard. Barton was arrested at about midnight in his bed room, the place he had been asleep, and was nonetheless drunk, the trial was advised.
The couple are nonetheless married and residing collectively, the court docket heard. The previous footballer, of Widnes in Cheshire, was resulting from face trial at a magistrates’ court docket in 2022, however the case was adjourned after Mrs Barton despatched a letter to prosecutors retracting her allegations.
A choose then ordered that proceedings be paused over issues a trial can be unfair to Barton after prosecutors mentioned they didn’t plan to ask Mrs Barton to present proof in court docket.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Parkinson, appealed towards the choice on the Excessive Court docket in London, with barristers claiming at a listening to {that a} truthful trial may go forward. In a judgment in June, two senior judges dominated within the DPP’s favour and mentioned Barton ought to face a trial over the allegations in entrance of a special choose.
His profession and life have been marked by quite a few controversial incidents. Final 12 months, broadcaster Jeremy Vine sued him for libel and harassment over 14 on-line posts, together with one the place he known as Mr Vine a “large bike nonce” and a “pedo defender” on X, previously Twitter.
Earlier this 12 months, he appeared in court docket charged with sending offensive messages to Vine and commentator Lucy Ward. He was stripped of his QPR captaincy in 2012 having been despatched off throughout Manchester Metropolis’s dramatic final-day 3-2 win over QPR after elbowing Carlos Tevez and, as he left the pitch, Barton kicked Sergio Aguero earlier than aiming a headbutt at Vincent Kompany.
Barton denies a single cost of assault by beating, and the trial continues.