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      Joey Barton’s assault trial dismissed after he’s accused of ‘kicking wife and leaving golf ball sized lump on her head’

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      A JUDGE has today thrown out Joey Barton’s assault case after he was accused of attacking his wife two days before their anniversary.The Bristol Rovers boss was accused of leaving Georgia Barton, 35, with a lump the size of a “golf ball” after hitting her at home in Kew, South West London.
      Joey Barton has arrived at court with wife GeorgiaCredit: Doug Seeburg/News Group Newspapers Ltd
      But the assault by beating case has now been dropped on the grounds of abuse of process.
      It comes after Georgia wrote a letter to the CPS saying she got the details wrong after drinking all day and did not want to press charges against Barton, 40.
      The prosecution did not take a statement after this and refused to call her as a witness – causing District Judge Andrew Sweet to rule that Barton would not receive a fair trial.
      Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court was told Georgia had phoned police on June 2 last year telling them: “My husband has just hit me in the house”.
      When questioned by an officer at the scene, she added: “I’ve been pushed down and kicked about and stuff”.
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      But prosecutor Daniel Donoghue told the court Georgia became “evasive” the following day and has since retracted the allegation against her husband.
      She was not going to be called to be a witness against her husband at his trial, which started today.
      Bodycam footage played to Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court earlier showed Barton sleeping heavily in his bedroom when police arrived at the couple’s home.
      The manager was eventually woken up when the duvet was lifted from him while he was still in his pants.
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      Barton could be seen asking for his trousers before he was handcuffed and arrested.
      He was detained and gave a “no comment” interview when quizzed by cops, it was said.
      The court was told Georgia later sent a letter to the CPS on February 17 which is in “stark contrast” to her first account.
      The letter explained the couple, who are still together, were having dinner with pals and had sunk up to five bottles of wine each.
      Georgia suggested the injury was caused “accidentally” when friends intervened, the court heard.
      Barton married his childhood sweetheart in a lavish ceremony in 2019 at a country house in Oxfordshire.
      The couple have two children together – a son born in 2011 and a daughter born in 2014.
      Barton started his football career with Manchester City in 2002 after going through their youth system and went on to make 150 appearances for the club.
      He then moved to Newcastle United in a £5.8million transfer in July 2007 before leaving for Queens Park Rangers in August 2011.
      The midfielder was then put on loan to French side Marseille during the 2012-13 season before making his way to Burnley for one season – helping promote them to the Premier League.
      Barton made one appearance for England in 2007 – despite criticising some of his fellow players.
      The footballer then began his management career with Fleetwood Town in June 2018 after a stint at Rangers.
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      He moved to current club Bristol Rovers in February last year.
      Barton, of Widnes, Cheshire, denied assault by beating.
      Barton’s trial has twice been delayedCredit: Doug Seeburg/News Group Newspapers Ltd
      Barton denies assault by beatingCredit: Getty – Contributor
      The pair married in a lavish ceremony in 2019Credit: Instagram / Georgia Mcneil
      They have two children togetherCredit: Instagram
      Barton played for QPR, Man City and Newcastle during his careerCredit: PA More

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      Former Premier League star banned from driving after being caught at wheel with phone

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      FORMER Premier League and BBC star Jermaine Jenas has been banned from driving for six months after being caught using his phone at the wheel.The former Spurs, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest footballer, 39, was stopped by cops after they suspected he was using his mobile in his Range Rover.
      Jermaine Jenas has been banned from driving for six months
      In October last year, he was stopped in Marsh Lane, Stanmore, North London.
      Just after 3pm in the afternoon officers saw the former England ace just over five miles from his home, as he was alleged to be using his phone behind the wheel.
      He was also caught speeding on the M25 on March 4 earlier this year, going 65mph in a 50mph. 
      Earlier this month Jenas admitted both offences at Willesden Magistrates’ Court.
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      He has now been slapped with six penalty points, and is banned from driving for six months.
      He was also fined £660 for using his phone – and was fined a further £1,410, another three penalty points and ordered to pay £231 in others costs for speeding.
      PC Neil Cornelius told the court: “I noticed that the driver of this vehicle was using a handheld mobile device whilst driving. The device was being held in both their hands.”
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      Jenas, played more than 150 games for Tottenham, and was named PFA Young Player of the Year in 2002-2003.
      He retired in 2016 and has since gone on to be a successful pundit on Match of The Day, and currently co-hosts The One Show on BBC.
      Back in 2013 Jenas, who was playing for QPR at the time, was fined for failing to provide information to police when he was caught speeding.
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      In 2011 he was photographed after he crashed his £200k Bentley into the back of a van.
      He was also given three points for speeding in 2003 whilst he was playing for Newcastle United. More

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      Neymar avoids two-year jail sentence and £8.6m fine as all fraud and corruption charges regarding 2013 transfer dropped

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      NEYMAR has seen all fraud and corruption charges against him dropped by Spanish prosecutors.The Brazilian, 30, was facing a punishment of up to two years in prison and an £8.62million fine.
      Neymar has seen all charges against him droppedCredit: The Mega Agency
      This was in relation to a case which centred around an allegation from Brazilian investment firm DIS – which owned 40 per cent of the rights to Neymar when he was at Brazilian club Santos.
      They were alleging that they lost out on their rightful cut from the transfer because the value of the deal was understated.
      A court document released in July alleged that, in 2011, Barcelona paid Neymar 40 million euros to ensure he moved to the Nou Camp when his Santos contract expired in 2014.
      The offence – which saw Neymar and his family accused – is not punishable in Brazil but a trial was ongoing in Spain until today when the charges were thrown out.
      READ MORE ON NEYMAR
      According to Reuters, Neymar’s legal team will claim costs against the prosecution for “recklessness, acting in poor faith and for abuse of process”, while also reserving the right to claim for damages.
      Speaking during his first testimony earlier this week, Neymar said: “I didn’t participate in the negotiations.
      “My father always took care of it and always will. I sign everything he tells me to sign.
      “Playing for Barcelona was always my dream, a childhood dream.”
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      And Neymar da Silva Santos, the player’s father, added: “Our intention was to prepare a career plan for him in Europe, in which we had in place already established, could learn the language, etc.
      “And knowing his dream to play for Barcelona, we signed that priority agreement with them.”
      Neymar and his parents had the right not to testify in the case but decided to do so anyway.
      Real Madrid president Florentino Perez appeared as a witness during the trial.
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      He claimed Los Blancos offered Santos 45 million euros for Neymar in 2011 and then 36 million euros in 2013.
      But he decided to join Barcelona instead – where he would spend four years before joining Paris Saint-Germain for a world record £198m in 2017. More

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      Benjamin Mendy ‘told cops he was shocked at arrest for raping woman’ and said ‘I didn’t try to stop her leaving’ mansion

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      MANCHESTER City’s Benjamin Mendy told police he was “shocked” at being arrested for rape, a court heard.Mendy, 28, was interviewed by police multiple times in relation to a number of rape and sexual assault allegations, Chester Crown Court was told.
      Benjamin Mendy arrives at Chester Crown Court todayCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
      The Manchester City player’s ongoing trial sees him charged along with his co accused Louis Saha Matturie with multiple rapes and sex assaultsCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
      The Premier League footballer and his friend and ‘fixer’ Louis Saha Matturie, 41, deny all charges at their trial, now in its 12th week.
      The footballer gave a number of prepared statements to detectives followed by “no comment” interviews on instruction by his solicitor, the court heard.
      Timothy Cray KC, prosecuting, read the prepared statement Mendy gave in relation to the first of the young women he is alleged to have raped.
      The woman, aged 24, claims Mendy raped her three times at his home in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, in October 2020.
      Mendy said in the statement he had been out for a few drinks to a bar with Matturie and others in Alderley Edge near his home and met some girls who were invited back to his house.
      While there he saw one girl using her phone, which visitors had been instructed not to do, to video his home.
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      Mendy told police: “I asked her to delete the video. She gave me her phone and I deleted it.
      “As I did so a photo of her with no clothes on came up on screen. She said she had more photos of her like that and we agreed to go upstairs to my bedroom so she could show me more.”
      In his bedroom Mendy said she showed him more naked photos and took her top off and they started kissing.
      Mendy said the woman gave him oral sex and agreed they would “play around” but she did not want to go any further.
      Most read in Football
      Later she left with another girl and he ended up having sex with one of the 24-year-old’s friends from the bar, who stayed the night in his bed.
      He told detectives: “I’m shocked to be accused of rape and false imprisonment. All sexual activity between me and her was completely consensual.
      “I did nothing to prevent her from leaving.”
      Mendy gave a further three prepared statements to police in relation to separate women he had allegedly raped where he told detectives the sex was consensual.
      He denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.
      Matturie, of Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.
      Both men say if any sex did take place with women or girls it was consensual.
      Read More on The Sun
      None of the women involved, as sexual assault complainants, can be identified.
      The trial was adjourned until Friday morning. More

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      Former Aston Villa striker John Carew facing two years in prison and £45k fine after pleading guilty to fraud charges

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      FORMER Aston Villa striker John Carew is facing TWO YEARS in prison and a £45,000 fine after pleading guilty to fraud charges.The punishment was requested by the prosecution in his case at the Oslo District Court. 
      Carew is facing two years in prison and a hefty fineCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      The prosecution insist Carew, 43, had plenty of opportunities to correct information given to the authorities, but chose not to. 
      Police attorney Ragna Flaekoy Skjakodegard said: “Carew has had many, many opportunities to correct the information given to the tax authorities.”
      However, Carew says his actions were the result of poor advice from friend, lawyer and former agent Per A. Flod. 
      The ex-Norway international said Flod’s advice led him to not disclose income and assets from outside of his home country.
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      In his most recent court appearance, Carew said: “I trusted him blindly.
      “I have been convinced that he was right. He controlled me almost like a puppet.
      “I understand that it is grossly negligent of me to trust him so much, but that is why I have done it.”
      Carew spent over 15 years as a professional footballer.
      Most read in Football
      The overwhelming majority of his earnings were made abroad, having played for the likes of Valencia, Roma, Lyon and Besiktas. 
      However, the ex-striker is best known for his time in England.
      He played for Aston Villa for four years, West Ham for one, and spent half a season on loan at Stoke. 
      Carew represented his nation 91 times, scoring 24 times.
      He also won Norwegian footballer of the year on three occasions. More

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      Benjamin Mendy’s ‘fixer’ took teen girl, 17, on ‘date to Nando’s before asking her about his penis size’

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      A FRIEND of Premier League footballer Benjamin Mendy raped a teenage girl after a first date at Nando’s, a court has been told.Louis Saha Matturie told the then-17-year-old he was a football agent and, after the meal, took her to his flat, exposed himself and asked if he had the “biggest d***” she had seen, Chester Crown Court heard.
      Louis Saha Matturie at Chester Crown Court where he is charged with multiple rapes and sexual assaultsCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
      Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy also faces several chargesCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
      Manchester City defender Mendy, 28, and his pal and “fixer” Matturie, 41, deny a series of rapes and sexual assaults.
      The jury watched a police interview of the last of 13 complainants, who told officers about the alleged rape between July 22 and August 30, 2012.
      She said she saw Matturie while clubbing in Manchester, swapped numbers with him and arranged a date at the chicken restaurant.
      She said he later drove the pair to his south Manchester flat, where they sat on a bed and kissed before he took his penis out.
      READ MORE ON BENJAMIN MENDY
      “He just had it out, fully exposed,” she said.
      “I just remember saying, ‘No. I don’t want to have sex.’
      “I wasn’t really feeling it. I didn’t really fancy him.
      “I just remember him wanting to have sex. I felt like I had to have sex with him because he had it out.
      Most read in The Sun
      “I just thought, ‘It’s got to this stage now.’ I felt obliged.
      “I remember him saying, ‘Is this the biggest d*** you have ever seen?’
      “And I remember looking at him and saying, ‘No.’
      “Like, I’m disgusted and numb. Repulsed.”
      The woman said she went to the toilet, cried and texted her mum to say she would be back soon.
      Matturie later drove her home.
      After news of Mendy and Matturie’s arrest last August, the woman said a friend sent an article about it to a group chat on her phone.
      She told officers: “I thought, ‘Oh, my God!’ I felt sick and knew that I needed to say what I know.
      “I just replied and said, ‘I went on a date with him once.'”
      ‘I FELT SICK’
      Earlier, the court heard from a friend of another woman, 18 at the time, who alleges Matturie sexually assaulted her at the home of a footballer in Sheffield in 2016.
      She said Matturie was the organiser of parties in Manchester, sometimes involving footballers, and contacted young women through Snapchat and Instagram.
      She said there would be “no more” than five men at the events, with 10 or 15 girls invited and around 10 parties held during lockdown at a flat near Manchester city centre.
      After Mendy’s arrest, she said Matturie rang her.
      She told the jury: “He said, ‘Don’t believe what’s in the newspapers. These are girls, not women’ – something along those lines – and he’s told his boys to keep their heads down.”
      Prosecutors say Mendy is a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”, while Matturie allegedly had the job of finding young women for sex.
      Mendy, of Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.
      Matturie, of Eccles, Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.
      Both men say if any sex did take place with women or girls it was consensual.
      Read More on The Sun
      None of the women involved, as sexual assault complainants, can legally be identified.
      The trial was adjourned until next Monday morning. More

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      Man denies murdering Tyson Fury’s cousin Rico Burton, 31, after he was stabbed outside bar

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      A MAN has today denied murdering Tyson Fury’s cousin in a knife attack outside a bar.Rico Burton, 31, was stabbed to death in a 3am “bloodbath” in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in August.
      Rico Burton was stabbed to death after a night out
      Liam O’Prey has been charged with murderCredit: Facebook
      A 17-year-old man, believed to be a relative, suffered significant life-changing injuries.
      Liam O’Prey, 21, appeared at Manchester Crown Court today to deny a charge of murder.
      He also pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent in relation to the teen.
      O’Prey, wearing a grey jumper, admitted possession of a bladed article and possession of cocaine.
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      He was remanded in custody ahead of a provisional trial date of February 6 next year.
      Ex-youth boxing star Rico had been watching the Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk fight with pals on August 20 before they moved to a different pub in leafy Altrincham.
      Emergency crews were scrambled to the Goose Green area early the next morning after a fight allegedly broke out.
      Rico was rushed to hospital but sadly couldn’t be saved and was declared dead shortly after.
      Most read in The Sun
      Officers arrested O’Prey and a 20-year-old man on suspicion of murder following the horror.
      The second suspect has been released on bail pending enquiries.
      Fury previously called on the government to “bring higher sentencing for knife crime” after his cousin was “stabbed in the neck”.
      The heavyweight boxing champion wrote on Instagram: “My cousin was murdered last night, stabbed in the neck.
      “This is becoming ridiculous… idiots carry knives. This needs to stop.”
      He added: “ASAP, UK government needs to bring higher sentencing for knife crime.
      “It’s a pandemic and you don’t know how bad it is until one of your own.
      “Life is very precious and it can be taken away very quick. Enjoy every moment.”
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      Steve Egan, 60, chief coach at Jimmy Egan’s Boxing Academy where Rico trained, described him as a “lovely lad” and a “fantastic boxer”.
      He added: “We are all devastated.”
      Tyson Fury paid tribute to his cousin after the horrorCredit: Getty More

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      Benjamin Mendy ‘victim’ claims she was branded fat by England star Raheem Sterling

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      AN alleged victim has told the Benjamin Mendy rape trial she was branded fat by England star Raheem Sterling.The woman said the pair clashed at a party, one of several she attended along with Premier League players.
      An alleged victim has told the Benjamin Mendy rape trial she was branded fat by England star Raheem SterlingCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
      Asked if former Man City star Sterling called her fat, the alleged victim responded: ‘Yes’Credit: Reuters
      Asked if former Manchester City star Sterling, 27, called her fat, she responded: “Yes.”
      Her friend was said to have retaliated by calling the star, now with Chelsea, a “four-foot gnome”.
      The incident was referred to at the trial of Man City ace Mendy and his pal Louis Matturie, 41.
      The woman says she was 18 when Matturie groped her at one party.
      Read More on Benjamin Mendy
      Both Mendy, 28, and Matturie deny a string of rape and other charges.
      The trial continues at Chester crown court.
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