Ex-Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton arrested after fight leaves man 'wounded' | OneFootball

The former QPR midfielder is in custody after he was arrested on suspicion of wounding a man at a golf club.

Joey Barton has been arrested after he was alleged to be involved in a fight at a golf club in Merseyside, which has reportedly left one man injured.

That's according to a report from the Daily Mail, with the altercation said to have happened on Sunday evening, just over two months after the former Bristol Rovers boss was handed a suspended sentence for social media posts about Jeremy Vine, as well as football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

The 43-year-old was given a six-month sentence in December, suspended for 18 months, expressed his regret following this, and said outside Liverpool Crown Court (via: BBC News): "If I could turn back the clock I would. I never meant to hurt anyone. It was a joke that got out of hand. Nobody wants to go to jail."

Barton has been out of football since October 2023, after he was sacked by the Gas while they were in League One. He managed the club for nearly three years after a two-and-a-half year stint with Fleetwood Town - his first role in management.

Joey Barton arrested on suspicion of wounding following alleged golf club fight

The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday morning that the Huyton-born man was arrested on Sunday evening following an altercation near Huyton and Prescot Golf Club in the Merseyside area.

Barton is one of two men to have been arrested by police, and he was held as investigations began with one man taken to hospital with potential injuries to his face and ribs.

It has been alleged that the altercation began following an argument inside the clubhouse, and there is the potential suggestion that a weapon was brought into the situation from outside the building. The ex-professional footballer may have been acting in self-defence, as per the Daily Mail's report.

Merseyside Police have released a statement which stated: "We can confirm that two people have been arrested following reports of an assault in Huyton on Sunday 8 March. At around 9pm, emergency services were called to Fairway to reports of a man having been assaulted near to Huyton and Prescot Golf Club.

"The victim was taken to hospital for assessment of injuries to his face and ribs. A 50-year-old man and a 43-year-old man have both been arrested on suspicion of s18 wounding. They are both currently in custody where they will be questioned by detectives. Enquiries are ongoing into the incident."

Joey Barton has moved away from football for his living after Bristol Rovers sacking

Barton managed Bristol Rovers between February 2021 and October 2023, winning promotion from League Two to League One in his first full season at the club. However, after a difficult start to the 2023/24 campaign, he was sacked.

Since then, he has focused on his social media presence, and the former QPR midfielder has 2.5m followers on X, while he also has a podcast called the Common Sense Podcast with Joey Barton.

The 43-year-old now lives in Widnes in Cheshire, and a return to football management at this point looks incredibly unlikely.

Barton was found guilty in March 2025 of assault by beating and was given a 12-week suspended sentence after he pushed his wife to the floor and kicked her in the head.