Joey Barton to face new criminal trial over alleged assault on wife
- Joey Barton will face a new criminal trial over an allegation of assaulting his wife.
- The High Court ruled that the trial should not have been paused when prosecutors decided not to call Georgia Barton as a witness.
- Barton denies the accusation of assaulting his wife, who was allegedly left with a golf ball-sized bruise.
Joey Barton is facing a new criminal trial over allegations of assaulting his wife, Georgia Barton, in a drunken row, which he denies. The case was adjourned previously after Mrs. Barton retracted her allegations in a letter to prosecutors. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed against the decision, and two senior judges ruled in favor of Barton facing trial. The allegations include Barton grabbing his wife by the throat and kicking her in the head during an argument outside their home in June 2021. Mrs. Barton did not support the prosecution and was not called as a witness, leading to concerns about a fair trial. However, the court ruled that it was not an abuse of process to not call Mrs. Barton as a witness. The trial is set to proceed with a different judge overseeing the proceedings.