Joey Barton appears in court charged with assault

By Eleanor Barlow, Press Association

Former midfielder Joey Barton has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with an assault near a golf club.

The 43-year-old, from Widnes, Cheshire, is accused of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm along with a second man, Gary O’Grady, 50, from Huyton, Merseyside.

They appeared in the dock at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon and spoke to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.

The men are accused of attacking Kevin Lynch at Fairway, Huyton, on Sunday.

Chelsea Kearns, prosecuting, said Mr Lynch, 51, had been at Huyton and Prescot Golf Club drinking with the two defendants on Sunday.

She said: “Footage shows Mr Lynch and Mr Barton having what seems to be a heated discussion.”

The men then went outside, where a witness described seeing a man being assaulted and an ambulance was called, she said.

Mr Lynch is said to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital, but there is a possibility he may lose sight in one eye.

The case was sent to Liverpool Crown Court, where the men will appear for a plea hearing on April 7.

District Judge James Hatton told Barton, who wore a navy blue jumper, he would be remanded in custody until that hearing.

O’Grady, in a grey tracksuit, was released on conditional bail.

Earlier, at a High Court hearing on Tuesday over a libel claim involving Barton, Gervase de Wilde, representing former England forward Eni Aluko, said his instructing solicitor had “received a call from a duty solicitor in a police station in Liverpool” shortly before the hearing.

Mr de Wilde told the court on Tuesday that Barton, who has managed Fleetwood and Bristol Rovers, “was arrested yesterday and is currently being held in custody”.

Former Manchester City and QPR midfielder Barton has one England cap and also played for Newcastle, Rangers, Burnley and Marseille.

He now hosts podcast Common Sense With Joey Barton, which is described as an “unfiltered” look at issues in sport, society, politics and more.