September 8 – Ex-footballer Joey Barton will remain in custody until his trial next year after an application for bail was refused.
The 44-year-old was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court last week, charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Kevin Lynch, 51, in Fairway, Huyton, on March 8. The case was adjourned on Wednesday and brought back to March next year.
Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool at Monday’s hearing, Barton, wearing a zip-up gray fleece, saw Judge David Potter reject a renewed bail application. He nodded as the judge ordered him into custody ahead of a Dec. 11 pretrial hearing.
His trial will fall exactly one year after the alleged assault, so Barton, arrested shortly after the incident, will have spent 12 months in pre-trial detention before being heard.
He is accused of attacking Lynch after the pair had been drinking together at Huyton and Prescot Golf Club. Lynch, a former non-league coach and founder of special education school NexGen Academy, was said to have suffered serious injuries to one eye.
The trial itself is expected to last two weeks.
Barton has an England cap and also played for Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle, Rangers, Burnley and Marseille.
It’s a sad chapter for a figure never far from controversy throughout his playing and coaching career. For now, the legal process is continuing and Barton is waiting behind bars for a trial that is still months away.
