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Former Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has become the subject of fierce criticism for his comments on the racist murder of teenager Anthony Walker back in 2005. Barton’s brother, Michael, and cousin, Paul Taylor, were both convicted in relation to the incident.<\/p>\n
Anthony was hit in the head by Taylor with an ice axe while walking to a bus stop with his cousin and girlfriend in 2005. On the day of the murder, Michael Barton hurled racist abuse at Anthony and his cousin before following them, hiding in the bushes and launching a vicious attack alongside Taylor.<\/p>\n
The judge, Mr Justice Leveson, sentenced Michael Barton to a minimum of 18 years before parole, which was later reduced by one year, telling him that although he was not the one to wield the murder weapon, he was jointly responsible, adding: “You knew what you intended to do as you drove searching out your quarries and you crept into the park with evil on your mind.”<\/p>\n
Now, his older brother Joey has sparked uproar by describing the incident that led to Anthony’s death as a ‘scrap’.<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> Joey Barton demands Southgate to resign with brutal Pizza Hut remark<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking on the James English podcast, in a clip viewed over a million times on social media, he said: “My brother lost 17 years of his life from 17, because his mate, who was his cousin at the time, thought it would be a fantastic idea, when they were having a f*****g scrap, to pull an ice axe out and swing it into somebody and it stuck in his head.”<\/p>\n The Anthony Walker Foundation, which was set up in 2006 to tackle racism and hate crime, responded by issuing a lengthy statement.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/Joey-Barton-Bristol-Rovers-5093577.jpg?r=1701365862018\")
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