Joey Barton kicked wife in head in row, court hears

Prosecutor Helena Duong told the court there had been a “verbal disagreement about a family matter” before Mr Barton “grabbed her and pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the head”.

As a friend tried to intervene, Mr Barton “threw” him off and said “don’t disrespect me”, the trial heard.

Mrs Barton called the police shortly after 23:00 BST to “report she had been hit by her husband”, jurors were told.

The 999 call was played to the court, and a tearful Mrs Barton told the call handler her husband “just hit me in the house,” adding: “He’s in the house, I’m outside.”

Asked if anything similar had happened before, she said: “No, it’s the first time,” adding that she had been hit “in the face”.

Jurors were told that when police officers arrived at about 23:30, Mrs Barton told them: “I’ve been pushed down and kicked about and stuff.

“He said he was going to fight with my brother and my dad.”

The trial continues.