Barton infamously came to blows with the Frenchman in a training ground incident that saw Dabo come off the worse of the pair. And the combative midfielder - who has been in trouble for a series of high-profile incidents in the past - was subsequently arrested and charged for assault on the player who later claimed was left "looking like the elephant man".

"If you go to prison for defending yourself then, yes, I suppose I'll have to think about it," Barton told the BBC. "I don't care. It doesn't scare me at all, because I've done nothing wrong. I can go home and sleep at night and know I've done what I thought was right.

"It's my reputation. It's my fault I've got that reputation, but you shouldn't be slaughtered for trying to make yourself a better person. One day I will get to speak about the full facts.

"I don't think I'm a bad person."

Barton has been in hot water for poking a cigar into a former Manchester City youth team player's eye at a Christmas party, assaulting a 15-year-old Everton fan on a Far East tour with his former club, dropping his shorts and baring his backside to opposition fans. He has also courted controversy by openly criticising fellow England players before linking up with the squad for his debut.