Joey Barton's agent has accused the press of hounding his client following reports that the Newcastle United midfielder jumped a red light as he drove to meet his probation officer. Pictures in the Daily Mirror show the Newcastle United star's Range Rover Sport using bus lanes to pass vehicles on the inside lane in Newcastle city centre.

Willie McKay, Barton's representative, said he was unaware of the details of the incident but questioned the actions of the photographer who took the pictures. "Why are they following him? It is a disgrace. What would you do if people followed you in a car?" he said. "What is the guy meant to do? He doesn't know who is in the car, does he?"

The claims come on the day that Barton is due to attend an FA hearing for assaulting his former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo. In July the 26-year-old was handed a four-month suspended sentence for the assault and also spent 74 days in jail after being sentenced to six months' imprisonment for assault and affray in a separate incident.

McKay confirmed Barton would face a personal hearing today but said he hoped his client would soon be able to put the incident behind him. "I expect a guy that has committed a crime and has done his time now and the Government has set rules and regulations that you do your crime and do your time, after that they want you to be rehabilitated.

"I think if it was Joe Bloggs on the street, he would not even have got that and enough is enough, to tell you the truth," he said. "People follow him and hound him in his apartment block. Who do these people think they are to hound people for a story for a newspaper? It doesn't happen in America."