Barton named UK’s most punch-able footballer

Joey Barton does not exactly have a great track record

According to a survey by AskMen.com, Joey Barton has been deemed as the footballer that men would most like to punch in the face. Barton took 32% of the votes in the survey, narrowly inching out controversial former England captain John Terry, who came in with 29%.

Terry’s loss may come as a surprise to supporters who have followed his antics over the years, indicating Barton’s earnest attempt at successfully taking home the award. Terry, who is married and has a set of twin children, was accused of sleeping with the (now former) girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, who was Terry’s best friend in the England dressing room.

Those weren’t his only antics, as stories of the ex-England captain have spread about him taunting American tourists following 9/11, filling a beer glass with urine and dropping it, parking his Bentley in handicap spots, and giving unauthorized tours of the Chelsea training ground at £16,000 a person.

While Terry may have done some awful things, he does try a little to keep things under wraps (see John Terry super-injunction). Barton, on the other hand, has been involved in so many public sinister situations it’s no surprise the QPR player is the man who most want to punch, even after playing away from England in France the entirety of last year.

To sum it all up, here are some of the highlights from the 30 year old’s long and illustrious career:

2004 Storms out of the Eastlands after being dropped from the lineup against Southampton 2004 Puts a lit cigar in the eye of young teammate Jamie Tandy at a Manchester City Christmas party 2005 Breaks the leg of a 35 year old pedestrian in Liverpool while driving at 2:00am 2005 Sent home from City preseason tour of Asia after instigating a bar brawl with supporters and then-captain Richard Dunne 2006 Reportedly dropped his shorts in front of Everton supporters 2007 Arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage involving a taxi driver 2007 Suspended by City in May for the rest of the season for an on-field assault incident during training with Ousmane Dabo 2007 Calls Newcastle fans, who he was playing for at the time, “vicious” 2007 Arrested in Liverpool for common assault 2008 Jailed for six months for assault charges 2008 Banned 12 matches and fined £25,000 for assault on Dabo 2009 Suspended from Newcastle after flair-up with then-manager Alan Shearer 2010 Caused controversy with apparent Nazi salute during goal celebration 2010 Banned by FA for punching Morten Gamst Pedersen in the ribs 2011 Sent off when he tried to brawl with the entire City squad during a QPR and City match when he kicked Sergio Aguero in the back of the leg, attempted to head-butt Vincent Kompany, and elbowed Carlos Tevez in the face 2013 Suspended for two matches for calling Thiago Silva an “overweight ladyboy” on Twitter

Barton has already begun the new season with Queens Park Rangers, but rumors have it that West Ham may be willing to take a chance on him. Without a stellar track record, Barton will be sure to continue to provide the world with fodder to continue crowning him the footballer who most men want to punch in the face.

Reader Comments

The below views are those of our readers and do not reflect the opinions of Premiership Talk or its employees.