Ousmane Dabo is threatening legal action against Joey
Barton following what he claims was a "savage, unprovoked and,
worst of all, cowardly assault" by his Manchester City
team-mate.
"It is Barton's cowardice that upsets me most," Dabo, 31, said from
his Manchester home. "The fact that I look like the Elephant Man
and will not be able to play again this season is bad enough, but
what I find most shocking is that he [Barton] struck me first from
behind and then repeatedly when I was down on the ground. He is a
coward and his actions are despicable. This is why I'm in serious
discussions with my lawyers to see what actions I can take. This
should not be allowed to happen."
The incident, which took place at the club's Carrington training
ground on Tuesday, was so serious that Dabo had to be taken to
hospital for treatment. The midfielder, who joined City last summer
from Lazio, had several cuts and bruises as well as a suspected
detached retina. At one stage doctors were said to have feared for
his left eye though he should now make a full recovery. "I have a
severe scratch on my eye. Apparently I'm very lucky not to have
lost my sight," explained the seriously-shaken Frenchman
Some reports suggested that Dabo had been the original aggressor
and that Barton acted in self-defence. "Nonsense," Dabo
interrupted. "We were having a really good physical training
session where everyone was pumped up because this week we are
preparing for the Manchester derby on Saturday. Tackles were flying
in but Barton decided to go that little bit further than everyone
else. I think he was annoyed that Dunney [Richard Dunne, the club
captain] had won the supporters' player of the season award the
night before.
"Anyway, at one stage he tackled me from behind, which I didn't
take kindly to, so I then tackled him back, which got him very
angry. We then had a bit of a push and a shove, as you see at
training grounds almost every day, and I thought that was the end
of that.
"But then, as I was turning away to rejoin the training game,
Barton thumped me from behind on the right temple. That knocked me
down and, while I was falling, he hit me again several times in the
face. Some tough guy he is if he has to attack people when they're
not facing him."
When Dabo regained consciousness he had to be restrained by several
team-mates as he was keen to "go find" Barton, who had by then been
banished to the dressing room. "I was quite literally spitting
blood," Dabo recalled. "I wanted to have an explanation from him,
but face-to-face this time."
The meeting, sensibly, did not take place and it now seems as
though the two men will not cross paths again, as Barton has been
suspended until the end of the season and will almost certainly be
sold during the summer.
