Dabo may sue Barton over 'attack'

[gw]

Manchester City midfielder Ousmane Dabo is threatening legal action against team-mate Joey Barton following their training ground bust-up on Tuesday.

Dabo, 31, was left unconscious and with a bruised eye after Barton's attack.

"I went to turn around, he hit me and knocked me out. He is a despicable coward, it wasn't a fair fight," Dabo told L'Equipe. "I am disfigured.

"This is why I am in serious talks with my lawyers to see what I can do. This should not be allowed to happen."

Dabo also accused the Professional Footballers' Association of trying to help Barton but not getting in touch with him, a claim chief executive Gordon Taylor denies.


In the eyes of many I'm seen as the one who started the fight, but that is absolutely not true

Ousmane Dabo

"We've been in touch with Manchester City and have been trying to make contact with both players," said Taylor.

"As regards Dabo, [PFA executive] Richard Jobson is looking to make contact with him because he deals with his brother Moussa at Oldham on a regular basis."

Dabo had to be taken to hospital after Tuesday's incident, which has led to City banning Barton until the end of the season.

But boss Stuart Pearce says the matter will not affect the club ahead of the Manchester derby against United on Saturday.

"There will be no negative response," said Pearce. "The way the squad have handled everything has been a credit to themselves. I am sure they are galvanised by it.

"The matter is now the subject of an internal disciplinary hearing.

"The board will be involved, as will myself, and we will deal with it after the season ends."

Barton's agent Willie McKay said on Wednesday that he had been banned by City because he was "an easy target" and that he was acting "in self-defence".

McKay also suggested he was Dabo's agent, a claim the Frenchman was quick to deny.

"Let's get one thing clear," added Dabo in the Daily Telegraph. "McKay has never been my agent. He only assisted my real agent with my transfer last summer.

"Secondly, he should have checked his facts before saying I was the aggressor.

"He has actually called me since to apologise for getting the story wrong, but it's too late because in the eyes of many I'm seen as the one who started the fight.

"But that's absolutely not true and that is why I'm so keen to get my side of the story across."

[Golden_Boy™]

Didn't he say Barton left him looking like the Elephant man??

[gw]

Yeah lol. Saw that in the sun this morning

[Golden_Boy™]

From todays Guardian:

Joey Barton, the Manchester City midfielder whose reputation is in tatters after a savage training-ground attack on his team-mate Ousmane Dabo, is likely to face legal action from the Frenchman.

Dabo has contacted his lawyers about the possibility of a civil case and is strongly considering making an official complaint to the police about the assault, which was witnessed by a group of children who had been invited to City's training ground.

Article continues
"My face is badly disfigured," Dabo said last night about an incident which left him needing hospital treatment. "When Barton struck me the first time I lost consciousness for three or four seconds and I don't remember exactly what happened then. The cornea and the retina in my left eye are damaged and I have a lot of bruises. I am shocked this could happen."

His eye is completely closed and he has informed his lawyers that Barton attacked him from behind. The two midfielders had squared up after Barton's second late tackle on Dabo in the space of minutes. Angry words were exchanged but Dabo claims he then turned away and had walked several paces, with his back to Barton, before being punched to the ground. "It is Barton's cowardice that upsets me most," said Dabo. "What I find most shocking is that he struck me first from behind and then repeatedly when I was down on the ground. He is a coward and his actions are despicable."

He is particularly upset by comments from Barton's agent, Willie McKay, who claimed his client had been acting in self-defence, and it is clear that City have taken the Frenchman's side. Barton was suspended until the end of the season at an emergency board meeting and the club have decided that he has become so much of an embarrassment that they have no option but to sell him in the summer.

McKay dismissed the incident as the sort of thing that happens "from Chelsea to Yeovil" but Dabo says he has never known anything like it in a career that has taken him from Rennes to Internazionale, Vicenza, Parma, Monaco, Atalanta and Lazio before joining City last summer.

X-rays have shown that the 30-year-old former France international suffered no broken bones but he will need further tests on his eyesight once the swelling has gone down. He is also extremely shaken and has been advised to spend the next week recovering at home. He will not be available for Saturday's visit of Manchester United and it is not clear whether he will be able to return before the end of the season. "I cannot play on Saturday," he said. "I was knocked out and physically I am not ready."

Barton will be fined four weeks' wages and his tempestuous career in Manchester will be ended as soon as City can find a club willing to take him on. Everton are among those monitoring the situation and are aware that the 24-year-old Liverpudlian has a £5.5m buy-out clause in his contract. He was once a season-ticket holder at Goodison Park and a member of their youth academy.

Barton has been ordered to stay away from City's training ground. He is alleged to have struck Dabo six or seven times and the other players are said to be shocked by what happened. It is thought he may have been in a bad mood after Richard Dunne was named as the club's player of the year the previous night. Barton had also criticised some of Stuart Pearce's foreign signings and the manager will hold a press conference this morning.

Thats the spirit!! ;D

Not enough fight....too much fight!! etc etc..