Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has called on Joey Barton to prove the club correct in handing him a final chance.
Barton was hit with a 12-match Football Association suspension and fined £75,000 for the ugly scenes during QPR's final game of the season at Manchester City. His elbow on Carlos Tevez and clashes with Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany left his Rangers career hanging in the balance.
Rangers conducted an internal investigation and chose to fine him £420,000 and strip him of the captaincy, but they decided against sacking him. That is a decision Fernandes stands by, but he has told Barton that he does not want to see a repeat.
"Joey's realised his mistakes," Fernandes told the Sun. "Hopefully we can put this behind us. I am someone who believes everybody deserves a chance - as long as that someone shows they want the chance.
"For me, it's now down to Joey. I can say whatever I want, but it's all up to Joey."
Fernandes is happy with how the club handled the situation and is hopeful it can be put behind them. He said: "I applaud everyone in this process. Commonsense prevailed. Joey's put a lot at risk by saying I'm going to prove that I want to remain a member of QPR, and credit to him.
"We have been hard and rightly so - but everyone has come out of this a winner and we've done it with style. We weren't pushed to rush into any decision. We haven't overreacted. We took our time, evaluated the situation and came up with a solution."
