Ousmane Dabo has reacted with shock to comments made by Joey Barton and criticised the French media for being 'very forgiving'.
Retired Frenchman labels midfielder 'a coward'
Ousmane Dabo has reacted with shock to comments made by Joey Barton and criticised the French media for being 'very forgiving' towards the new Marseille signing.
Barton joined Marseille on a season-long loan deal from Queens Park Rangers before Friday's transfer deadline, having fallen out of favour at Loftus Road after being banned for 12 matches following his red card and subsequent violent conduct in the final game of last season against Manchester City.
Barton has since
spoken to the local press about a wide array of topics, including his ambitions for the future, his views on the Football Association and his bad-boy reputation.
The 30-year-old's time in England was punctuated by a number of incidents, including a training-ground altercation with Dabo in 2007 that led to the Frenchman being hospitalised with multiple head injuries and for which Barton received a suspended jail sentence.
Dabo, who retired last year, has now hit out at suggestions from Barton about what took place that day at the Manchester City training ground.
He said in
L'Equipe: "Joey Barton is lying about what happened on the training pitch at Manchester City. It is unbelievable. I am shocked.
"There was a trial at the civil courts, he pleaded guilty, and got four months' suspended prison sentence.
"When he is talking, he denies it, he stated I have started it all. It is fake. All my team-mates that were present during the attack gave evidence for me during the trial.
Traitor
"He tackled me, I replied by tackling him too. We found ourselves face-to-face. I had no intention to fight.
"I jostled him, but I didn't hit him. So I turned back and then he struck me to the side of the head. I lost consciousness and, being on the ground, he jumped at me and went on hitting me in the face about 10 times.
"He says he is a man, a bad boy, but he is just a coward. I don't want to give my truth, but the truth. Once again there was a trial."
Dabo does not like the way Barton has been treated since he joined Marseille and has highlighted his former team-mate's past misdemeanours.
"He didn't act that way just once. When he gave a knee blow to (Sergio) Aguero, he did it in his back again. I don't call that a man," said Dabo.
"He is nasty, a traitor. Sometimes I feel people roll out the red carpet for him. So I talk to remind people Joey Barton is a very violent player, far away from the image he tries to give since he joined Marseille. It wears me out to talk again about that story five years later.
"We condemned Jeremy Menez, Samir Nasri or Yann M'Vila for very small things, and now I believe the French media is very forgiving with someone who committed a lot of horrible things, and the last one just in May!
"No one wanted him in England, which is his own country, that means there is probably a reason."
