Martin Samuel's Debate: Why should Newcastle write off about £7m?

Joey Barton did not assault Ousmane Dabo on Newcastle United's watch. He was a Manchester City player at the time and that club sold him for £5.8 million; so why is it United's responsibility to write off about £7 million, including wages, on a point of principle after his conviction? And if they did, would City hand back Barton's fee by way of compensation?
As usual, the demand is for football clubs to do the job the courts will not. Barton received a four-month suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service for striking Dabo and, because he is already serving six months for assault and affray, he appears to have got off lightly. Yet it is not for Newcastle to correct Barton's punishment; their only issue is whether they wish to be further represented by such a man.

Should Newcastle sack Joey Barton? Have your say by e-mailing your views to the comment box below.

Comments

[Martin]

Chaps, mistaken identity, my comments were, and still are - This should be simple, Barton should be sacked by his club for breach of contract and then sued for the value of the asset (him), leaving him with what he started with - nothing - then he might learn a little respect. I think you are all refering to comments by Jason.

[Richard]

Simon 28 - before criticising Martin Samuel for not getting his facts right, perhaps you could do everyone the courtesy of getting yours right?

Or perhaps you could inform us all at what point exactly Kevin Keegan decided to sign Joey Barton? I think you'll find that he didn't...

[Pete]

Perhaps Mr Samuel , it is also the problem of sports writers who also have difficulty in separating money from standards ?! Simon 28 is absolutl;ey correct in his remarks , FIFA should ban the likes of Barton from all football activity...and remember was'nt it Newcastle that staged the on-field scrap between two other likely lads and offered Leeds Utd money for Lee Bowyer after a late night incident forced them to sell him !! Caveat Emptor

[WillG]

Two points, having read the above thread:

1) JohnnyB- it was Adriano Mutu who was sacked by Chelsea for recreational cocaine use, not Hernan Crespo. The latter I'm sure is a fine upstanding pillar of society, (wherever it is he is now plying his trade).

2) I agree with the point made my CJ that Barton needs to concentrate his efforts on repaying his debts to society, should he seek redemption for his numerous 'misendevours'.
"he has to show active remorse like visiting anger management courses and working with violent children."
All I would say is, with regards working with children, I don't think he'd pass a CRB check.

[JohnnyB]

The FA should ban him from professional football, a suitable compensation package put in place for NUFC and a clear message put across to any young impressionables. Money does not give you the right to get away with crime, Barton is a thug and doesn't deserve the rewards professional football offers.

[Jonathan]

The FA need to take a leaf out of the NFL book and look at their player conduct. In the NFL, and player found guilty of even a drink drive offence faces multi game suspensions including pay, and depending on the severity or number of offences may find himself out of the league all together.
Joey Barton is a thug, is no role model, and prances around as if he owns the place. He appears to show no remorse for what has happened. He needs to be banned; he needs to be in jail for a hell of a lot longer than he is. Football players are a joke.

[Simon 28]

Martin are you serious and do you understand the full facts of this?

Firstly, Joey Barton is currently serving a custodial sentence for committing a violent offence whilst employed by Newcastle United.

Secondly, they were fully aware of Barton's alleged assault on Dabo and that he would stand trial at a later date.

Barton has a history of violence and it was Keegan's choice to sign him.

Tough luck Newcastle deal with it!!!!!

[david Wood]

This is one instance where UEFA could be of some use.Newcastle should sack Barton,UEFA should then set a reasonable and fair transfer value,if some other club are foolish enough to offer Barton a contract,then they must compensate Newcastle with UEFA's valuation.

[anesu]

martin why do you want to stand up for the guy anyone with that sort of record of violence would be sacked be it in he army, bank or newspaper.if you moved sticking cigars in colleagues' faces and beat fellow workers you would not only get a job and people who get sacked for these acts are not public figures, so sack the guy on matter of cultural principle for perennial offenders

[Joseph Brown]

It should be Barton who has to pay the money back. Adrian Mutu was ordered to pay compensation to Chelsea after he was banned for several months, so why should Barton be any different? When Barton gets out of Jail, he will be able to find a club who will pay him large amounts of money, and he will be able to pay Newcastle the transfer fee back. Barton is a good enough player to find a club who will overlook his disgraceful behaviour. As with any adult, Barton should be held accountable for his own actions like everyone else. Having said that, unlike Chelsea, Newcastle would of been aware that Barton might have to spend a large spell away from the game before they bought him.

[Keith]

WBA had the nerve to unload two valuable players (Hughes & Hoult)for behavior that shed bad light on the club. Difference, at the time they were not Premiership above it all and recognized their responsibility.

[simmo]

How about he pays back his own transfer fee? He should be sued by the club as was Mr Crespo when he was found guilty of drug missuse!! The club should have had a clause in his contract to recover some of the transfer fee if he was found guilty. I think man city knew what was about to happen to there player and got rid as quickly as possible and made some money along the way.

[Gerard]

Absolutely! Barton MUST be sacked, but not to compensate for the court's ridiculously light judgement of him. He must be sacked because of his propensity for violence. There is ample evidence to suggest that he will become violent again. The next victim could be a child, a teammate, a police officer...who knows? He is a repeat offender who seems completely unable to control his violent impulses. To ignore this fact is to condone his behavior, and a club of class and principle (if such a thing still exists) would sack him immediately.

It was a bad business decision to buy him in the first place, and Newcastle need to write the loss as a bad investment. Finally, the FA should step in and ban him for life.

[Brian]

Wasn't it the case that Barton made a statement that he didn't actually beat the lad sensless only for CCTV to prove that erm yes he actually did. So now were on assault number two or is it 3 or 4.

Isn't his brother Michael Barton in Jail for murder.

How long is society going to have to put up with people who go round assaulting others. Newcastle should get rid.

[Adam Michie]

It would be newly broken ground indeed to sack someone on the basis of something they did at their previous employer but since when did football follow the remit of regular employment. I think if Barton had an unblemished record to date this unsavoury incident could be put down to a flash in the pan but the man is clearly unhinged. He is a violent individual and has a severe temper on him. He now represents Newcastle United football club and the club itself has a responsibility to show it's fans and the rest of the public that it will not tolerate or associate with behaviour like this, whether or not it was committed at another club. Being convicted of a criminal offence a couple of years after the fact can still be deemed unprofessional behaviour and be grounds for dismissal at your present employer...but then as I said before since when was football like real life.

[Neil Darragh]

He should be sacked by Newcastle he's an absolute disgrace.
If he had attacked a workmate in any other occupation's he would have been sacked on the spot.

[Bob Yule]

It's all very well saying that Newcastle should act on principle, but we all know there's no shortage of other clubs who would be very willing to give Joey Barton 'a second chance' and take advantage of the absence of a transfer fee.

The question than becomes - should a player with this kind of conviction never be allowed to play professional football again? Surely Barton's entire career shouldn't be terminated.

[Milo]

Martin, you forget that the Liverpool assault was on Newcastle's watch and was arguably the greater offence as it happened in our streets. The Dabo incident, while unsavoury, is more easily pardoned by a club because a) it stemmed from a quarrel and b) took place on the training pitch, not at 4am after twenty pints.

More fool Sam Allardyce for buying him, as most fans agreed at the time. But now the onus rests on them to correct this by showing this contemptuous little toerag the door. I say sack him and sue him - he must never sully the black and white shirt again.

[snez naik]

Maybe he should sign for Paul Ince.

[David]

Of course they should sack him. He has brought all his clubs and his profession into disrepute. His will be a continuing story of decline for the future just like Gascoigne, mark my words.

[Mark]

Sack him and write off the transfer money. If he stays he'll only cause more trouble and end up costing Newcastle more. If you lose respect then you lose the backing of fans, sponsors, other players who won't want to come to Newcastle. It soon adds up.

[Gareth Pearce]

The way Newcastle's owner is using double-speak to hide his ambitions of selling the club for a profit indicate that it is not high morals that drives his and the club's decisionmaking, therefore any decision on Barton needs to be made on the basis of getting maximum return on that 7m investment.

Compensation or legal action is fantasy, so the only route Newcastle can now take is to make a cold, hard, business decision to keep the player and hope that he turns his behaviour (and his playing form) around so they can recoup 3-4 million after 2-3 years of good behaviour. No doubt they will publicly position this as a selfless gesture to support the man's rehabilitation, but he's an asset to the business - nothing more, nothing less.

[Andy V]

I am firmly in the "it is Newcastle's business" camp. As a City fan let's remember the facts of the transfer: Joey demanded a transfer after the incident, and then it was held up because Joey believed he had earned a £300K loyalty bonus. Newcastle eventually upped their fee to cover hte bonus.

Newcastle were well aware of the situation re Dabo.

However the really sad fact here is that this is not the first time footballers convicted of serious assault and still be allowed to carry on with their career: Eric Cantona, Duncan Ferguson. Also remember Hartson v Berkovic - no charges...

[Damian]

If this was an ordinary guy off the street he'd be sacked from his job!"

Yeah but an ordinary guy doesnt cost millions to sign. Doh!

[Martin]

This should be simple, Barton should be sacked by his club for breach of contract and then sued for the value of the asset (him), leaving him with what he started with - nothing - then he might learn a little respect.