Barton allegedly grabbed his wife Georgia by the throat
Joey Barton "kicked his wife in the head" causing a "golf ball-sized lump" after drinking "four or five bottles of wine", a court heard on Friday.
The Bristol Rovers manager allegedly grabbed his wife Georgia by the throat and kicked her in the head at their house in southwest London on June 2 2021.
The 39-year-old - who denies assault - was facing trial at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Friday (March 18). However, the case was adjourned following an application by Barton's barrister, Simon Csoka QC.
Prosecutor Helena Duong said that Barton and his wife, who was not asked by the prosecution to give evidence at the trial, got into an argument while they had friends over at their house. She said that the former footballer pushed his wife over and kicked her in the head.
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Ms Duong said: "The prosecution case is brought on the 999 call and body worn footage. On the evening of 2 June Mrs Barton called 999 at 11.14pm and says that she has just been hit in her house by her husband. She asks for the police officers to attend urgently. At 11.38pm the police officers attend and speak to her outside.
"She’s waiting with another friend and another couple in the background as well. She says she had gotten into a drunken fight, the disagreement was about families, with her husband.
"She says she was ‘pushed down and kicked about and stuff.’ She said ‘he has got my head and pushed me down and he kicked me on my head’.
"An injury to the head is described by officers as a lump the size of a golf ball. She confirms that's where she was kicked in the head by her husband. When she touches it there’s some blood on her hand that appears to have come from a bloody nose."
When police arrived, Barton was said to still be asleep and was "still intoxicated" when he was arrested following the incident.
The court heard a letter was sent to the CPS by Mrs Barton on February 17 this year.
Ms Duong added: "It is contrary to her first account. We don’t propose to obtain a statement from her. There is nothing to stop Mr Barton’s legal team from taking their own statement from her if they wish to.
"She has given an account some eight months after the incident. In the Crown’s submission it’s an attempt to exculpate her husband."
Simon Csoka QC, defending, said Mrs Barton describes that the injury was caused "accidentally" when friends intervened in an argument between the pair. He added that everyone had drunk around "four or five bottles of wine each".
Barton, who has managed Bristol Rovers since February 2021, will next appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on June 23.
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