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LIVERPOOL, England (AP) -Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton was sentenced to six months in jail Tuesday for assaulting two people outside a McDonald's restaurant in central Liverpool.
The 25-year-old Barton, who has played for England once, was arrested along with his cousin and brother after the alcohol-fueled incidents in the early hours of Dec. 27.
"Without doubt, the most serious of the three offenders is you," Judge Henry Globe said. "You were restrained by others, but ignored them and acted in an extremely violent and aggressive manner.
"It also happened at a time when you were on bail for two other matters. If ever there was a time when you should be on your best behavior, it was then."
Before being taken to jail, Barton kissed the cousin, Nadine Wilson, on the cheek, shook the hand of his brother Andrew and handed over pieces of jewelry to an unidentified man in the courtroom.
"You have a high profile as a footballer and you know that draws attention to you," Globe said. "Yet you drank to excess and behaved in an aggressive, disgraceful manner."
Barton has a history of disciplinary problems. He left Manchester City last season after being charged with assaulting then teammate Ousmane Dabo during a training session.
Barton will return to Liverpool Crown Court on May 30 to face a separate trial for alleged criminal damage of a taxi. In June, he faces trial at Manchester Crown Court in the Dabo case.
Barton had been socializing with friends and family on Dec. 26 after missing Newcastle's 1-0 Premier League loss at Wigan with an ankle injury.
After consuming 10 pints and five bottles of beer, and after a series of verbal confrontations outside a McDonald's restaurant, Barton was caught on CCTV knocking an unidentified man to the ground.
He then straddled the man and punched him four or five times as his cousin threw food at the victim before Barton punched him up to 15 more times.
Minutes later, Barton attacked 16-year-old Jordan Spencer, punching him and leaving him with broken teeth.
Barton's lawyer, Stuart Driver, said the Barton brothers had been goaded by references to their brother Michael, who was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison in December 2005 for a racist attack in which two white men killed a black teenager with an ax in suburban Liverpool.
