Now plying his trade across the English Channel in Ligue 1 with Marseille, Joey Barton has escaped the fishbowl that is Great Britain, given that his reputation has long been washed up following several controversial instances both on and off the field of play.
The most natural example of a player who believes it is him against the world most of the time, Barton who has been regularly in the wrong was actually unfairly dismissed during a match against Norwich City for QPR in January 2012.
Putting his head together with Canaries’ midfielder Bradley Johnson following an incident that could be simply described as ‘handbags’ at best. Referee Neil Swarbrick saw fit that Barton should be instantly dismissed for apparently headbutting Johnson when replays confirmed Johnson bought the minimal contact and earned Barton the red card.
After the game, a livid Neil Warnock told the public that Johnson had ‘conned’ the referee. Reputation certainly went before Barton that day.
