Distin fined by the Court

Pompey defender Sylvain Distin was today fined £2000 for failing to attend the abandoned assault trial of former team-mate Joey Barton.

The centre-back was said to have gotten off lucky and could have faced jail term if his absense had delayed court proceedings any further.

The Frenchman ignored a hand-delivered summons to appear in court and instead went on holiday with his family in Crete, just days before the trial started at the Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on 3oth June.

The 30-year-old was required at the hearing to give verbal evidence of what he could recollect from the day of the incident. He was a witness to the training ground bust up between Ousmane Dabo and Joey Barton last May, where Barton was said to have attacked Dabo.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told the ex-City player that his non-appearance would have halted the case if Barton hadn’t already changed his plea to guilty. It would have led to a custodial sentence, something many Pompey fans wouldn’t of wanted.