Barton loses QPR captaincy, fined 6 weeks' wages

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:04 a.m. ET June 25, 2012

LONDON (AP) -Queens Park Rangers stripped Joey Barton of the captaincy and fined him six weeks' wages on Monday for his violent conduct against Manchester City players in the final round of the Premier League last season.

Last month, Barton was banned for 12 matches by the English Football Association and fined 75,000 pounds ($118,000) for elbowing Carlos Tevez, kicking Sergio Aguero and trying to head-butt Vincent Kompany before being escorted off the Eastlands pitch by his teammates.

"The club has also reached agreement with Barton that if he seriously breaches the club's disciplinary procedures again, the club reserves the right to terminate his contract," QPR said in a statement.

The 29-year-old midfielder will also miss QPR's pre-season tour of Asia in July.

Barton, who was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of affray after being involved in an altercation outside a nightclub, was contrite about his actions during a match in which his team only narrowly avoided relegation.

"I was reckless and deserved every punishment I received," he said on Twitter. "Money comes and goes, it's not important to me. Losing the captaincy and missing 12 games, is what really hurts. I was stupid and that what happens when u do dumb things. I am confident (I'll) bounce back. Cannot wait."

Since joining QPR, Barton has spent the last year - primarily through Twitter - trying to convince the public that he is no longer the volatile person who was previously jailed for a street assault and accumulated a long list of fines and bans from the FA.

At his first club, Man City, Barton punched a teammate in the eye during training and pushed a lit cigar into a teenage teammate's eye at a Christmas party.

After that incident in December 2004, Barton had another row with a 15-year-old Everton fan in Bangkok and was fined eight weeks' wages by City. The following season, Barton dropped his shorts and exposed his backside to Everton fans and was fined for misconduct.

In 2007, Barton appeared to have straightened out his life and he even received a call-up to the England team, going on as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Spain.

But the bad behavior soon returned and he was arrested after a violent argument with a taxi driver. He was then suspended by City after punching teammate Ousmane Dabo during training, which later led to a suspended jail sentence and the FA suspending him for six games.

Barton transferred to Newcastle in 2008 but he was arrested in Liverpool after a street brawl and eventually received a six-month jail sentence for assault and fighting.

Barton was allowed to leave Newcastle on a free transfer in August 2011 following his public criticism of the club.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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