Joey Barton handed three week suspension by Rangers after showdown talks with boss Mark Warburton
The former Manchester City star had to meet the manager to discuss comments he made after Old Firm derby defeat
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JOEY BARTON has been suspended by Rangers for three weeks following a training ground bust-up with teammate Andy Halliday.
The midfielder held showdown talks with his boss this morning after he was told to stay away from the club until this week after a heated exchange in the wake of their 5-1 defeat to Celtic.
Leaving the Ibrox meeting the former Burnley star was asked if he was still a Rangers player, he replied: "I think so."
And Rangers have confirmed he will now serve a further club suspension.
A statement read: "Joey Barton has today been suspended by the club and will not return to Ibrox or Auchenhowie for a period of three weeks.
"The manager, Mark Warburton, and club believe that time and space is required for both the club and the player to assess all that has happened.
"Neither party will make any further statement or comment on this issue."
Warburton refused to discuss the Barton crisis after Gers' 0-0 draw with Ross County on Saturday.
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He cut short his post-match interview, insisting: “We won’t make any comment on any player when there is an internal matter being dealt with.
“It didn’t affect our preparations. That’s all part of the challenges. If you work on a building site and bricks don’t turn up, you’ve got a problem.
“We trained well and delivered a good performance which didn’t get the rewards I felt the players deserved. I have no more comment to make on Barton.”
Last night ex-Celtic star Chris Sutton blasted Warburton over his handling of the situation.
He said: "Fine him, sack him or transfer list him, but don’t give him five days off.
“Here’s the bottom line, bad management on the pitch, bad management off it.
“They’ve just had their pants pulled down by their biggest rivals and he’s moaning about negativity.
“The job is too big for him in my view.
“This isn’t Brentford, this isn’t the city and he’s coming out with ‘best performance of the season’. Do me a favour.”