latest news
BARTON HIT BY BAN
Barton arrives for the hearing on Friday.
Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton will serve a minimum six-match ban and has been fined £25,000 by the Football Association for his attack on former team-mate Ousmane Dabo last May.
The full length of Barton's ban is 12 games but six of those are suspended until the end of the 2009-2010 season.
The 26-year-old was given the punishment by an independent disciplinary panel on Friday for last year's altercation with Dabo when both were players at Manchester City.
The four-man panel, which included former England manager Graham Taylor, took just under two hours to reach their verdict, which now sees Barton ruled out of action until October 25 at least.
He had previously admitted the charge of violent conduct in August, but requested a personal hearing in an attempt to plead leniency. He has now has two weeks to appeal the verdict.
A statement on the FA's website read: "Much has been written about Mr Barton over recent months. The Regulatory Commission had the benefit of taking all appropriate information into consideration. The Commission members considered principally the serious attack by Mr Barton that clearly cannot be accepted.
"The members also had to take into consideration the sanctions imposed by the courts and the pro-active support Mr Barton has received from Newcastle United FC and other professional bodies.
"The Commission members wanted to punish the offence appropriately but give Mr Barton an opportunity to ensure his professional conduct does not falter again and ensure he is fully aware of the consequences should he make another serious error of judgement."
The attack left Dabo, who now plays for Italian club Lazio, with several cuts and bruises as well as a suspected detached retina.
The France midfielder said the attack was so bad that it had left him "looking like the elephant man". In July, Barton received a four-month suspended prison sentence for the assault.
Barton was jailed for six months in May for a separate assault on a man in Liverpool last December.
His former boss Kevin Keegan, who resigned on Thursday, was scheduled to attend the hearing as Barton's character witness but is thought to have submitted a character statement by fax instead.
Joey Barton Factfile:
1982: Born Huyton, September 2.
2003: April - Makes Manchester City debut in a 2-0 defeat to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
Scores first Blues goal in 2-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
September - Called into England Under-21 squad for internationals against Macedonia and Portugal.
2004: February - Sent off after half-time in an FA Cup tie at Tottenham with his team 3-0 down. City go on to win 4-3.
April - Stormed out of Eastlands before kick-off after being axed from the side to face Southampton.
July - Blasted by manager Kevin Keegan for causing a mass brawl in pre-season friendly at Doncaster.
September - Signed a two-year extension to his contract.
December - Stubbed a lit cigar into the eye of young team-mate Jamie Tandy during club's Christmas party. Fined six weeks' wages by City. Forced to pay four weeks' salary - approximately £60,000 - immediately, with a further two weeks suspended for a year.
2005: May - Barton breaks leg of 35-year-old pedestrian while driving his car at 2am in Liverpool city centre.
July 22 - Involved in an altercation with a 15-year-old Everton fan at City's team hotel in Bangkok, where the team are playing in the FA Premier League Trophy.
July 27 - Fined eight weeks' wages by City after being found guilty of gross misconduct in the Bangkok incident. Accepts punishment and agrees to undertake a programme of rehabilitation.
2006: January 30 - Hands in a transfer request, which is instantly rejected by City.
July - Signs new four-year contract.
September 30 - Drops his shorts in the direction of Everton fans following City's 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Merseyside Police and the FA later confirm they are liaising in their investigation into the matter.
October 5 - Charged with improper conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute by the Football Association.
October 9 - Admits charge.
October 10 - Fined £2,000 and warned as to his future conduct by the FA.
2007: January 16 - Everton bid for Barton rejected by Manchester City.
Barton's agent, Willie McKay, reveals the midfielder has a £5.5million release clause in his contract, suggesting Everton triggered this clause.
February 2 - Earns first call-up to senior England squad for friendly against Spain.
February 7 - Makes England debut as a 78th-minute substitute.
February 21 - Cleared of making obscene gestures towards Portsmouth fans due to insufficient evidence.
March 13 - Arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage in an incident involving a taxi driver. He is later charged with criminal damage, which he denies.
April 21 - Barton says City fans are "not getting value for money" when watching the club at Eastlands and said the club had not signed quality players.
May 1 - Suspended by City for the rest of the season after training ground altercation with Ousmane Dabo.
June 2 - Admits he may be open to offers from other clubs.
June 5 - City give Newcastle permission to talk to the player after they make a bid.
June 14 - Completes £5.8million move to St James' Park.
July 21 - Breaks a metatarsal in a pre-season meeting with Carlisle.
August 2 - Charged with assault over training ground incident involving Dabo.
October 4 - Appears in court charged with Dabo assault. Indicates he will plead not guilty.
October 22 - Makes Newcastle debut in 3-1 victory over Tottenham.
December 1 - Barton causes controversy on Tyneside by describing the St James' Park crowd as "vicious".
December 27 - Arrested in Liverpool city centre in connection with an allegation of assault.
December 28 - Charged with common assault and affray and refused bail.
2008: January 3 - Released from custody after being granted bail.
January 16 - Appears in court in Liverpool over allegations of assault and affray.
March 12 - Appears in court charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray.
May 20 - Admits assault and affray and is jailed for six months at Liverpool Crown Court.
July 1 - Receives four-month suspended sentence for assaulting Dabo.
July 28 - Released from prison.
July 31 - The FA charge Barton with violent conduct over the Dabo incident.
August 13 - Barton admits the FA charge.
August 30 - Barton returns to first-team action by making a substitute appearance for Newcastle away to Arsenal.
September 5 - Banned by the FA for 12 matches - six of which are suspended - and fined £25,000 after admitting violent conduct charge in relation to the Dabo incident.
