Joey Barton arrested on suspicion of attacking man near Liverpool golf club

Former footballer detained after incident outside Huyton and Prescot golf club on Sunday evening

Joey Barton is due to appear in court charged with attacking a man near a golf club in Liverpool.

The former footballer was arrested after the incident outside Huyton and Prescot golf club at 9pm on Sunday.

Barton, 43, was one of two men detained by police as emergency services responded to reports a man had been seriously assaulted.

Merseyside police confirmed that Barton would appear in court later on Tuesday on suspicion of section 18 wounding with intent, a form of grievous bodily harm.

The force said the alleged victim was in a serious but stable condition in hospital being treated for severe injuries to his face and body.

Emergency services were called at about 9pm to reports of a man having been assaulted near the golf club.

Barton and another man, Gary O’Grady, 50, were remanded in custody to appear at Wirral magistrates court later on Tuesday.

Police officers remained at the scene on Tuesday morning carrying out fingertip searches behind a cordon. Officers could be seen checking neighbouring gardens while sniffer dogs were at the golf club, about 8 miles east of Liverpool city centre.

One neighbour told the Liverpool Echo on Tuesday that they had seen a man on the floor “with blood on him” before they rang 999.

They said they saw police washing blood off the pavement on Monday: “When my partner went to work yesterday morning they had took the cordon down and they were washing the pavement. That’s why there’s sand all over the pavement from where they washed it.”

Barton played for clubs including Manchester City, Newcastle and Rangers during his 15-year career in top-flight football. He moved into management in 2018, first with Fleetwood Town and then Bristol Rovers until 2023.

Barton’s arrest was confirmed in the high court on Tuesday at a libel hearing brought by the football pundit Eni Aluko over a series of social media posts made by him in 2024. The court was told that Barton could not attend because he had been arrested.

Aluko’s barrister, Gervase de Wilde, urged the judge to reject a request to adjourn the hearing, saying Aluko’s request for damages should be treated as unopposed as Barton’s lawyers had not attended court.

Mr Justice Lavender awarded Aluko £339,000 in damages but gave Barton seven days to appeal owing to his current circumstances.