Former Manchester City player Joey Barton has refuted allegations of assaulting an individual outside a golf club.
The 43-year-old, dressed in a grey zip-up fleece and wearing glasses, appeared via videolink from HMP Liverpool for the plea hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.
He entered a not guilty plea to the charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Kevin Lynch, 51, at Fairway, Huyton, on March 8.
Barton’s co-defendant Gary O’Grady, 50, from Huyton, Merseyside, was not required to enter a plea to the charge on Tuesday.
An earlier court session revealed that the defendants had been drinking with Mr. Lynch at Huyton and Prescot Golf Club prior to the alleged incident.
Mr. Lynch, a former non-league football manager and founder of the special education institution NexGen Academy, reportedly sustained significant injuries to his eye.
Honorary recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC scheduled a trial date for September 1, with the proceedings anticipated to last seven days.
The 15-minute hearing also addressed administrative issues.
Barton, from Widnes, Cheshire, was remanded in custody, while the judge extended conditional bail for O’Grady, who was accompanied in court by several family members.
Former City and QPR midfielder Barton has one cap for England and has also played for Newcastle, Rangers, Burnley, and Marseille.
He currently hosts the podcast Common Sense With Joey Barton, which is characterized as an “unfiltered” examination of topics in sports, society, politics, and beyond.
