Barton punch raises some questions

Result of Barton 'raising his hands'!

Punch

The incident this week that has led to me asking these two questions is the punch by Newcastle’s Joey Barton on Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen and the subsequent comments by Newcastle boss Chris Hughton.

I’m going to look at question one first;

We all now the past of Joey Barton, who at twenty-eight, is hardly a spring chicken in footballing terms.

We all know the story of him stubbing out a cigar in the eye of a youth team player at Manchester City and being sent home from a pre-season tour for assaulting a fifteen year-old. We all know he served a prison sentence for an assault and affray in Liverpool city centre and that he was given a suspended prison sentence for an assault on his team-mate Ousmane Dabo on the training ground.

In other words, we all know he has been a bad lad in the past.

Exceptional

This season Barton has been exceptional in the Newcastle midfield and he had kept his temper in check until Wednesday evening. People were beginning to talk of him coming into the England set-up again and his performances certainly justified such talk.

Then, on Wednesday, the old Joey Barton reappeared. Pederson walked past him and brushed against him. He turned and appeared to be about to apologise to Barton when, unprovoked, Barton punched him in the chest. The referee didn’t see it at the time, but he has now been charged, admitted the offence and will be banned for three games.

Barton made a public apology for what he did.

“I would like to apologise to Chris Hughton, my team-mates, our fans and of course to Morten Gamst Pedersen and Blackburn. I fully accept that I was in the wrong on this occasion and accept the charge that the Football Association have brought against me. I hold my hands up, I reacted badly to the situation on Wednesday night and I deeply regret it. I have been working very hard to keep that side of my game under control and I think it has showed in the way I have been able to get on and enjoy my football this season. I look forward to trying to get back into the team once my suspension is over and helping the club maintain its good start to the season.”

Trying

It is great to see Barton trying so hard, but on Wednesday he failed. Will he ever be able to eradicate this side of his character?

Moving on to question two;

I would expect Newcastle manager Chris Hughton, who has done a fantastic job at the club and I greatly admire, to be furious with Barton for behaving so thuggishly and getting himself banned for three games. If he was furious, he certainly didn’t show it publicly.

“I have seen it again and I am aware that he has raised his hands. But I am also very conscious that because it’s Joey Barton, there will be far more made of it than any other individual.”

Staggered

I am staggered by this reaction. “Raised his hands” is an unusual description for an unprovoked full-bloodied punch. More is not being made of it because it was Joey Barton. He will face the same processes and the same ban as any other player would. Barton is actually one of the few players who would punch an opponent like this, so the argument is fatuous anyway.

I know manager’s tend to defend their players, rightly so, but surely he should condemn the actions his player took shouldn’t he?