Author: isport
BARTON SET FOR DEBUT
The assistant coach of Olympique de Marseille, Franck Passi, has said that Joey Barton might play his first match for Marseille against Fenerbahce in the Europa League. That match is going to be played on 20th September. Barton has signed a 1 year loan deal with Marseille this summer. Barton is a contracted player of QPR but can’t play for them becasue the FA have banned him for 12 matches due to his violent behaviour in a match against Manchester City in the last season. (Man City news wanted it to be more like a 12 month ban!)
Barton has also received a warning from the club that his contract would be terminated if his behaviour is found to be violent again in the future. According to the transfer rules of FIFA, Barton can’t play in the Ligue 1 matches in France at the moment, but, the ban doesn’t stop him from playing in Europe. So, he is expected to play against Fenerbahce.
Franck Passi said that Barton has been out of the game since the last two months. He hasn’t trained enough in the last few days. So, he might not be ready to play in the entire match, but, he could be sent on the field as a substitute in the later part of the match against Fenerbahce. As per Passi, Barton is technically very good. He has got great skills and he would not take too much time to get back in form. His inclusion would definitely prove to be beneficial for the club.
On being asked whether Barton’s inclusion in the team would be helpful for the young players, Passi answered positively.
He said that Barton has the experience of playing in different conditions and he can definitely help the young players in developing their game. As per Passi, the club has a lot of expectations from Barton in the ongoing season and hopefully, he would deliver for the club.
BARTON ACCEPTS FINE
QPR midfielder Joey Barton has now been stripped of the captaincy at the club, while he has also been fined six weeks wages for the indiscipline that he showed in the final match of the last Premier league season, according to the Man City news website.
QPR took on Manchester city’s final game of the last season knowing that they had to draw the match if Bolton won their match against Stoke city. QPR managed to surprise everyone by taking the lead against title chasing Manchester City. However, with an hour of the match gone, QPR captain and midfielder Joey Barton got himself sent off for a challenge on Carlos Tevez, in a tackle reminiscent of Cesc Fabregas‘s lunge on Chris Eagles seasons earlier.
However, the major altercation came after his sending off. Joey Barton was involved in the bust up with a number of Manchester City players, while also involving many QPR players as well. His needless red card meant that QPR were reduced to 10 men.
They subsequently lost the match, but were saved due to the fact that Bolton also lost their match against Stoke city. Following the match, it was rumoured that QPR would be willing to listen to offers for the £ 80,000 per week man. However, he has now escaped with a fine and will also know how to do without the captain’s armband.
“My behaviour was wrong and I accept the punishment that has been imposed upon me as a result. I apologise to the manager, my team-mates and of course the QPR fans for my actions. I also apologise to the Manchester City players, staff and supporters,” said Joey Barton on the official website of QPR. He also said on Twitter that he is certainly not worried about having been fined six weeks wages, but is more disappointed when it comes to losing the captaincy and also having to do without 12 Premier league matches.