Joey Barton found not guilty of assaulting rival manager Daniel Stendel

Joey Barton has been found not guilty of assaulting rival manager Daniel Stendel.

Barton, aged 39 and of Widnes in Cheshire, was accused of occasioning actual bodily harm to Stendel while taking charge of Fleetwood Town for a League One fixture at Barnsley in April 2019.

A jury at Sheffield Crown Court returned a unanimous verdict to acquit the Bristol Rovers boss on Monday.

Closing statements from the prosecution and defence were made last Friday after Stendel alleged he was pushed from behind, resulting in him hitting the metal bars in the tunnel at Oakwell and suffering a dental injury.

The incident was initially brought the attention of police after Barnsley lodged formal complaints to the English Football League and the Football Association.

Barton pleaded not guilty to causing actual bodily harm in October 2019 during a hearing at Barnsley Magistrates' Court.

The subsequent trial was delayed by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic and he eventually appeared at Sheffield Crown Court in June 2021.

But jurors were dismissed due to technical issues with Judge Jeremy Richardson QC deeming parts of Stendel's evidence, given via video link, were being "lost in translation".

Judge Richardson decided the trial should take place when Stendel would be able to travel to Sheffield to appear in court in person.

Former England, Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder Barton arrived at court two Fridays ago and the verdict of not guilty was returned 10 days later.

A 10-person jury took less than two hours to come to their decision on Monday. One member of the jury was discharged earlier that day due to ill-health.

Barton thanked the jury before leaving the courtroom.

He left Fleetwood in January 2021 and joined Bristol Rovers the following month. He led the Gas to a 2-1 victory over Sutton United in the FA Cup second round on Saturday.

Stendel, meanwhile, was sacked by Barnsley in October 2019 and has gone on to have brief spells with Heart of Midlothian and Nancy.