Before you read this, log on to the Internet, go to youtube.com and type ‘Joey Barton’ into the search.
First up you will find a link to a video of CCTV footage from what looks like any given Saturday night in any given British city at any given time of the year.
You see, we live in a booze culture which has led to no end of problems. However, this was no ordinary fracas.
As you will glean from footage of the incident in Liverpool city centre in December last year, Barton’s attack, no matter what the provocation, was defenceless.
The 25-year-old’s previous offences make for colourful reading; stubbing out a lit cigar in the eye of former team-mate Jason Tandy at a Christmas party during his Manchester City days and assaulting a 15-year-old Everton fan while on a pre-season tour to Thailand are just two of the lowlights.
He has also incurred the wrath of the Football Association who handed him a disrepute charge and a £2,000 (Dhs 14,500) fine after he bared his backside to rival Everton fans after a late City equaliser at Goodison Park in 2006.
Suffice to say Barton is a nasty piece of work who deserves to be locked up behind bars – that’s metal ones, not of the other variety. We’ve all seen what carnage can ensure from a spell in there.
So there was a sense of justice when the Newcastle United and – I’m ashamed to say – England midfielder pleaded guilty to common assault and affray in May and was jailed for six months.
Oh, and I should also mention that while he was inside the infamous Manchester prison Strangeways he received a suspended four-month sentence for actual bodily harm after a “ferocious” attack on another former City team-mate, Ousame Dabo following a training ground row (he obviously doesn’t like his fellow pros too much).
This is where I tell you he has been sacked by Newcastle with instant effect and forced to find an alternative source of income to support the lifestyle he clearly enjoyed on his £65,000 (Dhs 473,000) a week salary. Right?
Sadly, wrong.
Just when society and the thousands of children who look up to sports stars need to be sent a strong message telling us all that violence doesn’t pay, what happens?
Kevin Keegan, Newcastle’s manager, reveals he thinks Barton deserves a “second chance” and he is willing to forgive him for his past sins.
Now, I’m all for amnesty and absolution, where it is earned, but Barton has long since left the last chance saloon.
There was hope that sense would eventually prevail for a while last week when club owner Mike Ashley, a self-styled man of the Geordie people intimated that Barton would be released early from his five-year deal.
But we know that football operates in an entirely separate universe from the rest of the world. Forget standards, morals and ethics, on planet football money is all that matters.
Morals go for a toss
Therefore when Ashley realised there were a trio of rival Premier League clubs keen on taking on Barton, baggage and all, for around £3m (Dhs 21.6m), his principles were dropped quicker than Barton’s shorts.
You see the player cost United £5.8m (Dhs 42.2m) just over a year ago and Ashley obviously believes that recouping some of that outlay outweighs making a statement that says he will not be associated with a thug who taints the famous black-and-white stripes every time he pulls on a Toon shirt.
What a missed opportunity. At least Nike were in touch with reality. They tore up their two-year deal with Barton, for which he “earned” £40,000 (Dhs 291,000) every year for wearing their boots, for bringing their name into “disrepute”.
Football as a whole should take a leaf out of Nike’s book and “just do it”. Kick him out for good because he brings the game into disrepute every time he walks out on to the pitch.
