First picture of headteacher ‘assaulted by Joey Barton at golf club’
Former footballer Joey Barton has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with an assault near a golf club.
51-year-old Kevin Lynch was allegedly assaulted at Huyton and Prescot Golf Club while having drinks with Joey Barton and Gary O’Grady.
Barton, 43, from Widnes, Cheshire, is accused of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm along with O’Grady, 50, from Huyton, Merseyside.
Both men appeared in the dock at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon and spoke to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.
On Sunday, the pair allegedly drank with Mr Lynch at the golf club, while having what appeared to be a ‘heated discussion’, prosecutor Chelsea Kearns said.
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CCTV then showed the men going outside, where a witness described seeing a man being assaulted, and an ambulance was called, she said.
Mr Lynch is said to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital, but there is a possibility he may lose sight in one eye.
The case was sent to Liverpool Crown Court, where the men will appear for a plea hearing on April 7.
District Judge James Hatton told Barton that he would be remanded in custody until that hearing.
O’Grady, in a grey tracksuit, was released on conditional bail.
Barton, the former Manchester City and QPR midfielder, has one England cap and also played for Newcastle, Rangers, Burnley and Marseille.
He now hosts podcast Common Sense With Joey Barton, which is described as an ‘unfiltered’ look at issues in sport, society, politics and more.
Neighbours near the golf club described hearing a man ‘groaning in pain’ and seeing blood on the street before the ambulance arrived on Sunday.
Just yesterday, Barton was told to pay Eni Aluko more than £300,000 in damages and legal costs.
Former England footballer and pundit, Aluko, brought legal action against Barton and sued him for libel over two posts he made in 2024 on the social media site X.
On Tuesday, the High Court heard the case had been stayed, with Barton to pay ‘substantial’ damages and Ms Aluko’s legal costs.
Gervase de Wilde, for Ms Aluko, said that in the two X posts Barton had wrongly claimed she had ‘cynically sought to exploit her status as an alleged victim of racism and bullying’, and that she was a hypocrite.
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