Aug 01 2008
Barton To Be Punished By FA Over One Year Late
photo: John Lew
Joey Barton could face up to fifteen games on the bench this season, as action is finally being taken against Barton’s incident in training when he assaulted Manchester City teammate Dabo ages ago. Although there is nothing to govern how large a sentence the FA can hand out, I seriously doubt they would take the appropriate actions. Just like the legal system, that only jailed Barton for a few months, despite the nature of his vicious assault on a young fan.
I’d expect someone to do something, as despite his talent, Barton is an ambassador to children everywhere growing up, and watching football. The FA needs to ask itself, does our brand want to represent players like Joey Barton, that act like mere hooligans anytime something they aren’t agreeable to happens. Do you really want Barton to be an emissary of English football when Newcastle does tours in other countries? Because what sort of example does that set up?
So please FA, I guess I’m asking, make the decision to set an example with Barton, and show that footballers should be held to a higher standard when it comes to acts of petty violence. That Barton isn’t just a boy on a pitch getting into a scuffle over something idiotic, but rather he’s a man who’s still bound by the same stupid aggression boys half his age grow out of, and should be punished accordingly.
