Joey Barton must serve 12-match ban at Marseille during loan spell

Joey Barton must serve 12-match ban at Marseille during loan spell Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton must serve the remainder of his 12-game ban during his season-long loan at Marseille. French football authorities confirmed the decision on Thursday.

Midfielder Barton, 30, was suspended following his sending-off in QPR's final match of last season at Manchester City. He subsequently clashed with City players Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany. Barton has served three games of his ban, missing QPR's first three games of the Premier League season before moving to France. Fifa rules state that sanctions imposed on a player prior to transfer "must be enforced or applied by the new association at which the player is registered".

A statement from the French League, the LFP, said: "Upon the transfer of Joey Barton from Queens Park Rangers to Olympique Marseille, the English Football Association transmitted to the French Football Federation the disciplinary sanction he was subject to in the English league. "In accordance with article 12 of Fifa's Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players, the sanction is applicable in France." Barton will be unavailable for Marseille's games in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de la Ligue, but will be free to play in the Europa League.