Barton banned for 12 games after City outburst

QPR midfielder Joey Barton has been banned for 12 matches after his behaviour against Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season “tarnished the image of football”.

The FA last night confirmed an independent regulatory commission found Barton guilty of two counts of violent conduct.

The FA also announced Barton received an automatic four-game suspension, with the additional eight matches a consequence of the manner of his dismissal. He was also fined £75,000.

Barton was shown a red card at the Etihad Stadium for elbowing Carlos Tevez off the ball, before kicking Sergio Aguero and then attempting to headbutt Vincent Kompany.

The acts were condemned by the chairman of the regulatory commission, who stated: “There are rules of conduct that should be adhered to, and such behaviour tarnishes the image of football in this country, particularly as this match was the pinnacle of the domestic season and watched by millions.”

Barton denied the charge of violent conduct against Kompany but the FA said the case against him was proved.

An FA statement said: “An independent regulatory commission has dealt with two charges of violent conduct against Joey Barton, arising from the game against Manchester City, resulting in an eight-match suspension and £75,000 fine for the Queens Park Rangers midfielder.

“This eight-match suspension is to run consecutively to the four-game suspension Barton was already given for his dismissal in the fixture, making a total of 12 matches.”

“Barton accepted the charge of violent conduct against Aguero