Barton has been involved in the following - and I'm not even going to mention the countless bad tackles on the pitch as I don't want to be here until midnight:
- put out a lit cigarette in a youth player's eye at City in 2004
- broke a pedestrian's leg whilst driving through Liverpool city centre in 2005
- sent home from a pre-season tournament in Thailand for assaulting a 15 year old Everton fan in 2005. He had to be restrained from further assaulting him by teammate Richard Dunne
- exposes his backside to Everton fans on camera in 2006. Fined £2,000 for bringing the game into disrepute
- arrested for alleged assault on a taxi driver and criminal damage in Liverpool in 2007
- public criticises his team and manager Stuart Pearce and is banned from speaking to the media in 2007
- assaulted teammate Ousmane Dabo in training and is fined £100,000 in 2007. Dabo was left unconscious and had a suspected detached retina. Barton was subsequently prosecuted and received a four month suspended prison sentence
- Barton punches a man 20 times until he is unconscious in Liverpool city centre as well as attacking a teenager and breaking his teeth in December 2007. Sentenced to six months in jail
- suspended by Newcastle for calling Alan Shearer "a **** manager" and assistant Iain Dowie "a prick" in 2009
- punches Morten Gamst Pedersen in the chest and is charged with violent conduct in 2010
- directs homophobic remarks and gestures towards Fernando Torres in 2010
- sent off for elbowing Carlos Tevez in the face in 2012. As he leaves the pitch, he kicked Sergio Aguero to the back of the knee and attempted to headbutt Vincent Kompany. He had to be dragged from the pitch by former teammate Micah Richards and tries to square up to Mario Balotelli. He was banned for 12 matches.
- calls Thiago Silva an overweight ladyboy on Twitter in 2013 and is banned by French F.A for two matches
- receives his 9th career red card for swinging a kick at Tom Huddlestone's groin in 2015
- suspended by Rangers for a raining ground altercation with a teammate in 2016
- banned for 18 months for betting offences
Barton's always sorry after the event, but still tries to justify himself with some excuse or mitigation.
Rather than thinking he's been harshly treated, he should be more than grateful that he was still part of the game so he could be banned from it!
18 years wouldn't be a long enough ban, never mind 18 months.
Barton is and always has been a nasty thug. There are many, many jobs he would not have been allowed to continue to earn a living in after the first misdemeanour. But football isn't one of them sadly.
Now he thinks he is above football's betting laws, which are aimed at trying to keep some integrity in the game intact. In other sports, his offences would have attracted longer bans.
His self pity is pointless; he hasn't got what he deserved - I agree with him on that- but only because the F.A have been far too lenient with him.
If it does force him to retire - good riddance Joey Barton
