The former England footballer Joey Barton pushed over a rival manager, causing serious injuries to his face, after defeat in a League One match, a jury has been told.
Barton, 38, went on trial on Monday accused of assaulting Daniel Stendel, the then Barnsley manager, in the tunnel at the South Yorkshire side’s Oakwell Stadium in April 2019 after a 4-2 defeat for Fleetwood Town, where Barton was then manager.
The prosecutor Ian Goldsack described tensions between the two sides when they met earlier in the season at Fleetwood, including a handshake between the two managers that Stendel “took to be an intimidatory gesture”, and said these continued seven months later.
Goldsack told the jury at Sheffield crown court that Barton had confronted Stendel during the match, and after the final whistle the defendant was “still very worked up and used some foul language towards him, which Stendel did not fully understand but realised he was being insulted”.
The prosecution argued that the defendant ran past a number of people at the end of the match and entered the tunnel behind Stendel.
“Mr Stendel felt a push from behind and fell forward, hitting his face against that tunnel structure. He was knocked to the ground and when he looked up he saw the defendant passing him. He believed him to be responsible for what happened,” Goldsack said.
Barton did not stop, apologise or acknowledge what had taken place, he added.
The jury was shown video footage of Barton running into the tunnel after Stendel and the structure then shaking. Further footage showed a bloodied Stendel being helped back to the changing room.
The jury were also shown photos of Stendel’s injuries and were told that the most serious were to his mouth, including a tooth being moved out of the bone, with some associated nerve damage.
“Football is a sport which can arouse great passion. Clearly there was some history to this fixture, with some degree of antagonism on the previous occasion. And Mr Barton’s mood was perhaps not helped by that previous defeat; by having a player sent off just after it looked as though Fleetwood might get back in the game; by Barnsley extending its lead with a third goal, prompting provocative celebrations by [Barnsley first team coach] Christopher Stern; and by the defeat that came with the final whistle,” said the prosecutor.
“Perhaps his anger hadn’t subsided from their exchange moments before at the pitchside. Perhaps the temptation was too great. But the prosecution say you can be sure it was Mr Barton whose actions were responsible for Mr Stendel’s loss of balance, going forwards, suffering the injuries that you have seen, and that he is guilty of unlawful assault as set out in your indictment.”
The jury were told that the only other witness to the tunnel incident was Barnsley’s performance analyst intern, Nathan Kirby, who said he saw how Barton “pushed against [Stendel] from behind whilst continuing to jog forwards”, and described it as “a deliberate act”.
Goldsack told the jury that Barton provided a prepared statement after his arrest in which he accepted using “industrial language” on the touchline but denied barging into or assaulting Stendel in the tunnel.
Barton, who is now the manager of Bristol Rovers, denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Stendel is due to give evidence by video link from Germany on Tuesday. The trial continues.
