Ex-footballer Joey Barton could face domestic abuse trial resumption

Former Manchester City footballer Joey Barton could see his trial over domestic abuse allegations resume after prosecutors asked judges for the case to be continued, according to reports from the BBC.

Mr Barton - who was manager of Bristol Rovers at the time of the trial and alleged assault - was accused of assaulting his wife Georgia in an alcohol fuelled row. The case was adjourned, however, after Ms Barton retracted her allegations and the criminal proceedings against him were paused in October 2022. The Director of Public Prosecutions is now appealing against the decision at the High Court in London.

Barton, 41, was accused of grabbing his wife by the throat and kicking her in the head during a row outside their home in south-west London in June 2021. They had been with two other couples. Barton denied the charge of assault of beating after his wife was allegedly left with a ‘golf ball-sized bruise’ on her forehead and a bleeding nose.

Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court head in March 2022 that Ms Barton had written to prosecutors a month before the scheduled trial, claiming that she was injured accidentally when friends intervened in an argument between the pair. She also added that both had drunk ‘four or five bottles of wine’.

Ms Barton was not due to be called as a prosecution witness during the trial due to fears she would not give a truthful account of the events. Lawyers for Mr Barton, however, then argued this would leave him at a disadvantage as it meant she could not be questioned over inconsistencies in her evidence.

The District Judge Andrew Sweet subsequently adjourned the case, pausing criminal proceedings in October 2022, saying it would be ‘unfair for Mr Barton to be tried’.

However, over 18 months later, barristers now believe a fair trial is ‘possible’ and Tom Little KC, representing the DPP, said that pausing proceedings was a ‘last resort’ and the case should be allowed to resume.

Simon Csoka KC who is representing the ex-Rangers footballer, said prosecutors made a ‘deliberate decision’ to ask police not to speak to his wife about her evidence and that refusing to interview or call her as a witness was an ‘unfair tactic’.

Tom Little KC, representing the DPP, has since said in written submissions that: “The prosecution, consistent with its policy on prosecuting domestic abuse cases, had to strike a sensitive and careful balance between the expressed interests of Georgia Barton and the public interest prosecuting cases of alleged domestic violence.”

Dam Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Saini are to give their judgement at a later date.