No escape for Joey Barton

Aug 3 2008 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

SOCCER thug Joey Barton is already singing the ballad of karmic retribution. It goes like this . . . every action has a consequence in natural justice.

And the consequence of being a persistent bad boy is to lose the respect of fellow men long after formal punishment has been meted out.

I’m no expert in the eastern doctrine but I think that’s why Barton will be dogged by what he did for the rest of his life.

I can’t say if karma made sure the Press were there to add to the footballer’s embarrassment when he was released from prison.

Or if it was why his £60,000 Range Rover got a flat battery outside the nick as if to rub his nose in it.

There may even be a reason why his burly minders got their photos in the paper.

But it all added to his humiliation in what he may have hoped to be a low-key release.

As time goes on, Barton will continue to pay the price for his savagery.

He may have been controversially given another chance at Newcastle United but there will still be a reckoning.

Every flashpoint on and off the pitch will be a reminder of his convictions.

Everything he does and says will be interpreted in light of his criminal record.

And some fans will no longer want his name on their shirts. Who, after all, wants to hero-worship a vicious yob?