Merseyside-born manager and former Premier League player Joey Barton has been found not guilty after pushing previous Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel in 2019.
Barton, from Liverpool, was cleared at Sheffield Crown Court following a week-long trial.
Stendel was left bruised and bloodied with facial injuries and a broken tooth following an incident in the game between Barnsley and Fleetwood back in April 2019.
Barton, manager of Fleetwood at the time, denied the allegation it was him who pushed Stendel causing him to fall and suffer the injuries.
Stendel told the jury he was barged over from behind causing him to hit his face on a metal structure.
Barton denied being aggressive or hostile towards Stendel.
He stated that he did not come into contact with anyone in the tunnel, although admitted to using ‘industrial language’ during a post-match handshake.
Nathan Kirby, Barnsley’s performance analyst, gave evidence that he saw Barton “run past and shoulder barge” Stendel.
However, Barton’s lawyer Simon Csoka said that “even if it had been an accident it was quite possible for Mr Barton to have been unaware of what happened”.
The jury took just two hours to find Barton not guilty.
(Featured image wiki commons licence to use – pic by maestrios)
