Former Premier League midfielder Joey Barton has been denied bail following a court hearing.
The 43-year-old, of Widnes, Cheshire, who previously played for Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR in England’s top-flight, has been in custody since March 10, when he appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm with intent.
On Friday, Judge David Potter refused a bail application for Barton at Liverpool Crown Court.
The majority of the bail hearing was held in private, with the judge then announcing his ruling in open court.
Barton, who did not attend the hearing but was represented by Simon Csoka KC, will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on April 7.
He and co-defendant Gary O’Grady, 50, of Huyton, Merseyside, are accused of attacking Kevin Lynch near Huyton and Prescot Golf Club on March 8.
O’Grady was released on conditional bail after the magistrates’ court hearing.
Barton has one England cap and also played for Rangers, Burnley and Marseille before hanging up his boots in 2017.
He went on to manage Fleetwood Town between 2018 and 2021, prior to spending two years at Bristol Rovers between 2021 and 2023.
He now hosts podcast ‘Common Sense With Joey Barton’, which is described as an “unfiltered” look at issues in sport, society, politics and more.
Barton was also told to pay ex-England international Eni Aluko more than £300,000 in damages and legal costs earlier this month after being sued for libel.
In the libel case, Gervase De Wilde, who represented Aluko, said Barton's posts wrongly claimed she had "cynically sought to exploit her status as an alleged victim of racism and bullying", and called her a hypocrite.
The barrister said that between January and August 2024, Barton published 48 posts relating to Ms Aluko on his X account, adding that he had “carried out a deliberately targeted public campaign of vilification”.
