Joey Barton Arrested on Suspicion of Assault Near Liverpool Golf Club — Police Investigating

The 43-year-old — one of two men held by Merseyside Police — is currently in custody as detectives investigate what sources describe as a violent attack on Sunday night.

Joey Barton, the former Premier League footballer turned podcaster, has been arrested on suspicion of serious assault after a man was found badly injured near a golf club in Merseyside — in a dramatic late-night incident that has sent shockwaves through social media.

Joey Barton watches players warm up prior to the EFL Trophy Southern Group H match between Bristol Rovers and West Ham United U21 at The Memorial Stadium on 19 September 2023 in Bristol, England. | Source: Getty Images

Barton, 43, and a second man, aged 50, were arrested on suspicion of section 18 wounding — one of the most serious assault charges in English law — after emergency services were called to Huyton at 9pm on Sunday.

Officers from Merseyside Police arrived to find a man with injuries to his face and ribs. He was swiftly taken to hospital, where his condition is understood to be serious but stable. The victim has not been identified.

Joey Barton, then-head coach/manager of Bristol Rovers, during the Sky Bet League One match between Shrewsbury Town and Bristol Rovers at The Croud Meadow on 16 September 2023 in Shrewsbury, England. | Source: Getty Images

Sources told the Liverpool Echo that the younger of the two men held in custody is Huyton-born Barton — who was raised in the very town where Sunday night's alleged altercation unfolded.

The scale of the police response left local residents shaken. Merseyside Police erected a cordon on Fairway in the Knowsley area shortly after the incident — only to remove it, then re-erect it the following evening, compounding the unease felt by those living nearby.

A screengrab of a video posted 9 March 2026. | Source: YouTube Shorts/Liverpool ECHO

A Matrix van — a specialised vehicle deployed to tackle serious and organised crime — was also spotted at the scene the following morning, alongside officers conducting fingertip searches and a sniffer dog unit.

One neighbour, unsettled by the unfolding events, recalled the moment they first stumbled upon the stricken victim. "We didn't know if he had fallen or if he'd been attacked," they said. "We just rang an ambulance and then we saw the blue lights arrive."

A screengrab of a video posted 9 March 2026. | Source: YouTube Shorts/Liverpool ECHO

The same neighbour described returning to find the scene eerily scrubbed clean. "When my partner went to work yesterday morning they had took the cordon down and they were washing the pavement," they said. "That's why there's sand all over the pavement from where they washed it. Then they came back around 8pm last night."

A screengrab of a video posted 9 March 2026. | Source: YouTube Shorts/Liverpool ECHO

The news spread rapidly across social media, where members of the public were swift — and scathing — in their reaction.

"At least it wasn't a woman this time," wrote one netizen pointedly, in an apparent reference to Barton's troubled past. "Shocking," remarked another, drily. "He's never out the jail hahaha," joked a third. "Not for the first time," added a fourth.

Merseyside Police confirmed in a statement, "The victim was taken to hospital for assessment of injuries to his face and ribs. A 50-year-old man and a 43-year-old man have both been arrested on suspicion of s18 wounding."

Both men remain in custody. Enquiries are ongoing.