Premier League footballer Joey Barton has been told to set an example to fans who idolised him by the judge who spared him jail.
The 25-year-old Newcastle United midfielder received a four-month suspended sentence for assaulting his former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo during a training session.
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said Barton responded in a "ferocious way" to a "harmless" push by Dabo on May 1 last year. He punched Dabo up to five times leaving him unconscious and covered in blood.
Barton was on bail over the incident when he got involved in a fight outside a McDonald's restaurant in Liverpool city centre last December.
He is currently serving a six-month jail term after admitting assault and affray in that case, but is expected to be released in the next few weeks with an electronic tag.
The judge told Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester there was a build up of hostilities between Barton and Dabo after the former publicly criticised City's foreign players for underperforming.
Barton also bad-mouthed Dabo's performance to then-manager Stuart Pearce during a game against Portsmouth in February last year and urged his manager to "take him off, he's s***".
Those tensions erupted in the training match as Barton rode one lunging tackle from Dabo and quipped: "You're not even good enough to do me."
Judge Khokhar told him: "You are constantly in the public eye. You have a high profile, there would be instances of provocation from others. Being high profile and being an idol brings with it responsibilities which you have to carry with you all the time. You want to be setting an example to others, particularly to those who idolise you, particularly youngsters who look up to you."
Read More
Barton pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The four-month sentence is suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work and pay £3,000 compensation to his victim and court costs of £3,430.
