Former footballer Joey Barton was behind bars tonight after being remanded into custody for allegedly battering a man during a fight at a golf club.
The 43-year-old ex-Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers midfielder is accused of attacking married father-of-two Kevin Lynch, 51, at Huyton and Prescot Golf Club, in Liverpool, on Sunday evening.
Barton, of Widnes, Cheshire, spoke to confirm his name and address when he appeared before a judge at Liverpool Magistrates Court this afternoon but was denied bail.
Dressed in a blue half-zip sweater and grey jogging bottoms, he is charged alongside 50-year-old friend and roofer Gary O’Grady, also of Huyton, Merseyside.
Both men are accused of assaulting Mr Lynch, who has managed several non-league football clubs on Merseyside and elsewhere, occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH).
The court heard that all three men had been drinking at the clubhouse when a ‘heated argument’ developed between Barton and Mr Lynch at the bar.
Chelsea Kearns, prosecuting, said CCTV footage showed Barton appear to gesture to Mr Lynch to go outside before he left. Mr Lynch left a minute later.
Ms Kearns said: ‘On the road outside the golf club a woman hears shouting.
‘She hears a male shouting, ”Stop, stop.”
Joey Barton, 43, has been charged following a fight near a Liverpool golf course
Barton’s co-accused Gary O’Grady, 50, was bailed to appear before Liverpool Crown Court next month
Kevin Lynch, 51, is currently in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being injured in the alleged assault at Huyton and Prescot Golf Club
Merseyside Police confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that former footballer Barton has been charged with Section 18 wounding with intent
The lawyer said witnesses saw two men taking it in turns to punch, kick and stamp on a ‘bald’ man who was on the floor.
Another witness said they heard one of the alleged perpetrators tell Mr Lynch he ‘should’ve behaved.’
Neighbours described hearing a man groaning in pain and seeing pools of blood on the street before paramedics arrived.
A large number of police officers were scrambled to the scene, with forensics officers cordoning off the club and scouring the grounds for clues.
Mr Lynch was taken to hospital with face and rib injuries. Last night police said he was in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
The court heard Mr Lynch may have suffered a ‘permanent, irreversible injury’ and doctors were uncertain whether he might lose the sight in one eye.
Today a woman who answered the door at Mr Lynch’s semi-detached home, around five minutes’ drive from the golf club, declined to comment.
District Judge James Hatton granted O’Grady bail, but refused it for his co-accused and instead remanded Barton into custody to appear before Liverpool Crown Court next month.
Barton, O’Grady and Mr Lynch are all registered as members of Huyton and Prescot Golf Club.
Mr Lynch, who has previously managed Prescot Cables FC, Marine AFC and City of Liverpool FC, is also the founder and headteacher of NexGen Academy, a school for children with additional needs, in Liverpool.
Earlier on Tuesday Barton, who has one England cap and also played for Newcastle, Rangers, Burnley and Marseille, was ordered to pay £300,000 to former England footballer Eni Aluko after she successfully sued him for libel.
Former England footballer and pundit Ms Aluko brought legal action against Barton over two posts he made in 2024 on social media site X.
Gervase de Wilde, for Ms Aluko, told the High Court that Barton had wrongly claimed she had ‘cynically sought to exploit her status as an alleged victim of racism and bullying’, and that she was a hypocrite.
Barton – who managed Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers – did not attend the hearing, with Mr de Wilde telling the court that he ‘was arrested yesterday and is currently being held in custody’.
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’.
Mr de Wilde said one post included an image of Ms Aluko’s head superimposed onto serial killer Rosemary West’s body.
He continued: ‘The campaign amounted to an attack on multiple aspects of her life and personality.’
‘Mr Barton’s campaign caused Ms Aluko enormous distress. When she sought to defend herself against Mr Barton’s conduct, and that of his followers, he criticised and attacked her for doing so,’ he added.
According to a court order, Barton has been told to pay £339,000 – with the first £100,000 plus interest due by March 24.
