Joey Barton ‘golf club assault victim’ warned ‘you should have behaved’ in attack that could leave him blind in one eye

JOEY Barton was remanded in custody yesterday after allegedly battering a dad, leaving him potentially blinded in one eye.

The ex-footballer, 43, was charged after Sunday night’s incident at Huyton & Prescot Golf Club in Merseyside.

The dad allegedly assaulted by Barton is said to have been warned as he was attacked: “You should have behaved.”

Kevin Lynch may have suffered irreversible injuries to his eyesight in the attack, a court heard yesterday.

Barton’s co-accused, roofer Gary O’Grady, 50, was released on bail.

Both men were charged with assault occasioning GBH following the attack near Huyton & Prescot Golf Club in Merseyside.

Barton, originally from Huyton, is said to have got into a row after a day of golf and boozing at the £1,440-a-year club, where he is a long-time member

A heated argument at the bar is believed to have broken out before the victim left the clubhouse.

Soon after, a group of men were seen on the road outside the golf club. Chelsea Kearns, prosecuting, told Liverpool magistrates’ court that a woman heard a man shouting “stop, stop”.

She said Mr Lynch was seen being punched, kicked to the head and body and stamped on while he was lying on the floor.

A man also allegedly shouted during the attack that the victim “should have behaved”.

Mr Lynch, 51, who has managed various non-league football clubs, was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his face and body.

Police said he remains in a ­serious but stable condition. The court was told that he may lose the sight in one eye.

Yesterday, bespectacled Barton, of Widnes, Cheshire, carried a book into the dock as he appeared for the 22-minute hearing.

Dressed casually in grey tracksuit bottoms and a dark blue golf jumper, he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.

O’Grady, of Huyton, appeared alongside him, wearing a grey ­prison-issue tracksuit.

District Judge James Hatton granted conditional bail to O’Grady but told Barton he must remain in custody until the next hearing at Liverpool crown court on April 7.

Residents on Fairway, the road leading to the club’s entrance, said they saw a seriously injured man “groaning” in pain on the street as paramedics treated him at around 9pm on Sunday.

A dog walker also reported seeing a large pool of blood on the road the following day, before police covered it with sand.

One local in Huyton, whose home overlooks the golf club entrance, said yesterday: “It happened on Sunday night, we didn’t hear or see anything, but my wife was walking the dog yesterday and saw a pool of blood on the road, which was a bit of a shock.

“It’s normally a lovely quiet area around here.”

Yesterday morning police officers were seen conducting a search of the area.

Another resident, who asked not to be named, wondered why it took so long for police to cordon off the crime scene.

They said: “It happened Sunday night, I was upstairs and there was an ambulance outside in the street.

“I opened the window and looked out, there were a few people standing around and there was someone groaning.

“At first I thought it was a drunk, but it turns out someone was badly hurt.

“I thought nothing else of it until I came back from work on Monday night around 6.20pm and the police started putting tape up around the scene.

“I don’t understand why it took them so long. People have walked the dogs, come home from work.”

Mr Lynch, who is married with two daughters, aged 31 and 26, lives less than two miles from the golf club.

He is headteacher of the NexGen Academy in Liverpool, which educates children with additional needs.

He has also managed ­several non-league football clubs across Merseyside, North Wales and Derbyshire.

Barton has previously posted a selfie of him playing at the Huyton & Prescot Golf Club.

The former footie player made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City.

He also played for Newcastle, QPR, Marseille, Burnley and Rangers and got one cap for England.

Following his playing career, he had a spell as manager of League One side Bristol Rovers before launching his own podcast, Common Sense with Joey Barton.

In a statement yesterday, Merseyside Police said: “We can confirm that two men have been charged following an assault in Huyton on Sunday night, 8 March.

“At around 9pm, emergency services were called to Fairway to reports of a man having been assaulted near to Huyton and Prescot Golf Club.

“The victim was taken to hospital for assessment of serious injuries to his face and body.

“He is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.”