Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton saw his stag do spiral out of control as a violent brawl ensued on the Cornish beaches of Newquay.
The 36-year-old and his friends arrived in Cornwall on Friday to celebrate his forthcoming marriage to Georgia McNeil.
The large party explored the local bars and a hired out a strip club over the course of the weekend, but events took a turn for the worst when they all took in some downtime on the beach.
According to the Daily Mail, one of the ex-Premier League footballer’s friends allegedly punched three men, which left families within the vicinity scrambling to get away from the stag party.
Parents removed their children from the area as a scrap broke out on the beach, which began when a man from a separate group tackled one of Barton’s friends to the floor.
He quickly retaliated which saw the whole situation escalate violently, according to one witness who gave a full account of the incident to The Sun.
As per The Sun, the holidaymaker stated: “It got out of control quickly. There were children watching and their parents hurriedly took them away.
“During a race, a lad from another group rugby tackled one of Joey’s mates — then it all kicked off.
“The fella didn’t start the trouble but threw punches and knew how to handle himself.”
Barton, who currently manages League one outfit, Fleetwood, categorically denied any involvement in the incident which took place over the bank holiday weekend.
The former England international and Newcastle United midfielder is due to marry his long-term partner Georgia McNeil this summer.
Barton is no stranger to controversy off the pitch and he is currently the subject of a police investigation into an alleged brawl he had with another club coach while working for Fleetwood in April – as The Sun reports.
