The former Premier League midfielder Joey Barton has been cleared of pushing over a rival manager at the end of a match, leaving him bloodied and with a broken tooth.
When the Bristol Rovers manager gave evidence last week, Barton, 39, denied it was him who shoved the then Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel in the tunnel after a League One match between his Fleetwood team and the South Yorkshire side at Oakwell on 13 April 2019.
Mr Stendel told a jury at Sheffield crown court how he was walking down the tunnel in the corner of the ground after his side’s 4-2 victory when he was knocked over by a push from behind, causing him to hit his face on the metal structure. Video footage shown repeatedly during the trial showed Mr Stendel entering the tunnel followed by Barton, jogging, a moment later.
The jury took less than two hours to find Barton not guilty of one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a week-long trial.
