Joey Barton Trial: Football coach says he found boss 'in shock' in tunnel

Former Barnsley assistant manager Christopher Stern has told a court how he found his boss lying shocked and bloodied in the tunnel of a stadium after a League One match.

He was speaking at the trial of Joey Barton, who is accused of assaulting former Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel in April 2019 when he was managing Fleetwood Town.

Prosecutors allege that Barton knocked into Mr Stendel in the tunnel at the end of a match between the two teams causing him facial injuries when his head hit a metal post.

Mr Stern told the court he did not see how his boss received the injuries but came to his aid soon afterwards.

He said: "He was in shock. There was blood coming out of his mouth and nose. His front teeth were backwards."

The jury has been told by prosecutors of tensions between the coaching staffs at Barnsley and Fleetwood which began at the fixture at Fleetwood in September 2018 and resurfaced at the match in April at Barnsley's Oakwell ground.

Mr Stern agreed that he was issued with a yellow card during the first of these games.

The German national was asked about events in the second half of the return match at Barnsley in April.

He agreed that he celebrated enthusiastically after Barnsley went 3-1 up.

Mr Stern said: "I was screaming 'yes', 'yeah'." He said he turned to the Fleetwood Town technical area as he celebrated in an "emotional reflex".

Simon Csoka QC, defending Barton, said to Mr Stern: "It was a deliberate decision by you to go over and effectively celebrate in their faces."

He replied: "There was no intention to deliberately upset."

On Monday, Mr Stendel told the jury how he was walking down the tunnel after Barnsley's 4-2 victory when he was knocked over by a push from behind.

He said his face hit the tunnel structure and described how he looked up to see that Barton was the only person in front of him.

The defendant, who is now Bristol Rovers manager, denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC discharged one member of the jury on Tuesday morning leaving six women and five men to try the case.

The judge told the jurors they would probably retire to consider their verdict on Thursday.