Barton may face consequences for âassault outside of the game,â according to leading sports lawyer QPR may be in a position to terminate captain Joey Bartonâs contract on the grounds of gross misconduct for his actions following his sending-off against Manchester City last weekend, a leading sports law specialist has confirmed. Barton has accepted one charge of violent conduct against Sergio Aguero, who he kicked after being dismissed for an elbow on Carlos Tevez, but denies a second for a confrontation with Vincent Kompany. The 29-year-old is facing a ban from the Football Association which could run into double figures from the start of next season. QPR announced earlier this week that they will conduct an internal investigation into Bartonâs dismissal and his subsequent conduct in Sundayâs final game of the Premier League season. Jamie Singer, of Onside Law, told London24 that the midfielderâs action against Aguero, which fell outside of the refereeâs jurisdiction, could be classed as gross misconduct. âThe fact that there was an elbow to the throat [on Tevez], and then an un-provoked attack afterwards, two incidents, that might lead the club to see it as gross misconduct,â said Singer. âDepending on the terms of his contract there tends to be a two-tier approach. If something is ânormalâ misconduct then the disciplinary process may lead to a fine or suspension. âHowever, if the behaviour is so serious as to be deemed gross misconduct then you may be able to terminate just based on that one event. It depends on what is in his contract. âRegarding the incident with Sergio Aguero, I think that there is a distinction that you can draw. âInevitably in football there are fouls and sendings-off but it would be very rare for a field of play incident to be so serious as to constitute gross misconduct. âBut after he was sent off his behaviour is no longer a âfield of playâ issue and he can no longer claim it was heat of the moment or part of the game. Outside of the game, heâs assaulted Aguero, un-provoked. So that is where I think the club could have an argument to terminate his contract for gross misconduct, if they wanted to.â Singer said the incident was comparable with Manchester United striker Eric Cantonaâs âkung-fu kickâ on a Crystal Palace fan at Selhurst Park in January 1995, for which Cantona was given an eight-month ban but was allowed to remain at the club. As with Cantona, the assault was aggravated by the fact that it took place after the player had been sent off. Follow me on Twitter @QPRTimes
It would certainly be best for the club in the long-term if we can get rid but can giving someone a very tame knee to the thigh be classed as assault, however much the bloke rolls around in agony?
I study law and Violent conduct is considered a 'Conditional Breach' of contract, which is the most serious form of breach, which normally allows the person to be sacked, however I would assume it also depends on the other conditions place in the contract, so no lawyer could really 100% confirm that they can sack him (free of charge anyways)
It doesnt take a lot, they sacked Sousa for revealing inside info yet GP did that every day to his lapdog on WATRB. They just needed an excuse and Barton provided just that.
You can be sure our legal eagles are seriously deliberating over this. He is gone if they can pull it off.
Yorkshire Hoopster, professional advice needed! I predict we will reach some kind of undisclosed 'agreement', he leaves as a free agent we certainly don't pay him off 100%, but embarrassing court cases avoided. Then he goes and does the same thing somewhere else.
It looks like another misleading headline tbh. "Might", "if", "may", "depending", "if", "may", "if", "may", "depends", "could have". Don't get me wrong, if possible I'd see him out of the club so quick his feet wouldn't touch the floor, but I'd be surprised if it happened legally.
I initially thought that too Telford. It was only that they had ' an expert lawyer ' give his take on the issue that it qualified it somewhat more.
Summary dismissal for serious breach? If the stories about disruption behind the scenes are true then this is the club's opportunity to kill several birds with one stone...
It really is going to take one club to take the risk of a sacking and the legal battle that will ensue to eventually destroy the myth that a contract has to be paid-up in full. Man City with all their riches wouldn't take on Tevez, that would have been a watershed if they had and been successful but there was enough doubt with language differences etc. This is a far more clear-cut case, both his actions after the red card and his tweets allied to whatever bust-ups have taken place behind closed doors would suggest if ever there was an opportunity to get a dismissal this is it...
We're gonna get a whole summer out of this, and possibly most of the autumn too, or should that be the fall....
Agreed, if they want rid of him they will pay him off, dragging through the courts could be a long drawn out process, make it clean and clear cut. Released from contract by mutual agreement becoming a free agent, would be my bet. Surely you would need evidence of that and from my experience no facts were ever released from the club !
