Barton 'I Haven't Committed War Crimes'
Last updated : 11 August 2007 By Footy Mad - Editor
Barton was fined six weeks' wages by his former club Manchester City in December 2004 after an incident in which he poked a cigar in the eye of youth-team player Jamie Tandy.
The following summer Barton was sent home from the club's pre-season tour of Thailand and ordered to undergo anger management therapy by then boss Stuart Pearce.
In September last year was fined £2,000 for bringing the game into disrepute after television cameras captured him dropping his shorts in the direction of Everton supporters after a game at Goodison Park.
Now Barton insists he is ready to put his mistakes behind him and buckle down in a bid to secure a place in the Magpies' first team.
Joey Barton: "When you put things into context, the misdemeanours I've been in - in the real world with the things that are going on like wars - the things that I've done are stupid and childish.
"It's stupidity on my behalf but they are not war crimes.
"Serious issues are going on and that's what gets me - when you're on the front page and page seven is about a soldier dying, or people in floods, the real tragedies and the real bad things in this world.
"It just baffles me. But this is the world we are in, this is the way our society has become. I'm not trying to defend myself, I'm a human being I've made mistakes and a few of them.
"Football is my life but there is a lot more to this world than playing football.
"Footballers can sometimes get caught up in the fact that they are the centre of the universe when in the context of life, football is just a game that's been played over a hundred years. It's nothing really. Footballers are meant to be almost demigods.
"People want to keep beating me with a stick that I'm a bad boy. I'm not a bad boy. People who know me, whose opinions I respect, know what kind of person I am.
"I'm a human being and I've made mistakes - stupid mistakes and a few of them. I've also stood up and said I was wrong and what can I do to put it right.
"I've never shied away from the fact that I've been in trouble. I'll make bad decisions and good decisions just like anyone else - I'm not some superhuman robot just because I play football.
"My life is lived out in the public forum and people only get to see the side of me that makes mistakes and they don't see the real me.
"I'm a human being. I've made a lot of mistakes but I'm learning from them. I've been trying to lead a good life and be a good person."