A World Cup commentator suffered a brutal cut to the head while calling the game between Colombia and Uzbekistan on Wednesday night.
Warren Barton, who played for England and in the Premier League during his career, was working at the game in Mexico City for Fox Sports.
But towards the end of Colombia’s 3-1 win, Barton was struck on the top of his head by a glass bottle thrown by a fan.
There was a brief silence from Barton, 57, and lead commentator Jacqui Oatley before she revealed the former defender had been injured.
‘You got an actual cut to the head,’ Oatley said in the 87th minute. ‘You’re dripping with blood, I’m not joking.’
‘I know, I know,’ Barton responded. ‘It’s OK. It’s good. Whatever it was, it was sharp.’
World Cup commentator Warren Barton was cut on the head by a bottle thrown by a supporter
Barton was struck on his head by a glass bottle thrown during the Colombia-Uzbekistan game
Barton made 277 appearances in the Premier League, with the majority of those for Newcastle
Barton soldiered on and managed to finish the game. He later took to social media to share a photo of his injuries and wrote: ‘Great game tonight except for being hit by a bottle.’
Oatley also shared an image of her injured colleague and explained what happened in more detail.
She captioned her post: ‘That was an unusual one. Getting drenched in beer while commentating on a goal (quite refreshing, actually) and poor @warrenbarton22 was whacked/cut in the head by a flying bottle!
‘I heard him being hit and turned round to see blood trickling down his forehead. He’s OK.’
Ironically, it came after Barton had said earlier in the broadcast that he had little sympathy for a cameraman who got wiped out by a player and injured his ankle. He was unable to continue working.
Barton made 277 appearances in the Premier League, with the majority of those for Newcastle. He also played for Derby. He also earned three caps for England, playing in games against the Republic of Ireland, Japan and Brazil in 1995.
In 2008, Barton and his family relocated to the U.S. and currently live in the San Diego area.
