Soccer star lies low with Lions

Joey Barton (left), Mash and Gus, all of Liverpool, enjoy a beer in Rotorua. Picture / Alan Gibson

Manchester City soccer star Joey Barton is here to see the Lions, but his loyalty to football makes him a less ardent fan than many of his countrymen following the team on tour.

"I don't really support rugby. I just like it," said the 22-year-old midfielder as he enjoyed a pint of Guinness at Hennessy's Irish Bar in Rotorua yesterday, ahead of the Lions' game against Bay of Plenty tomorrow.

Barton went straight to the pub after a 36-hour journey from Liverpool.

He and friends "Gus" and "Mash" shelled out £18,000 ($47,000) in total for a package tour with luxury accommodation and tickets to five Lions games, including the three tests against the All Blacks.

Barton, who had a soccer ball with him in the pub, said the rugby tour was a good excuse to come to New Zealand. "It kills two birds with one stone."

He was also unlikely to be hurting from the price-tag, which is little compared with the 150,000 that the Telegraph website reported he was fined by his Premier League club for his part in an incident that left a player hospitalised with a cigar burn to the face.

Barton was also in the news last month for driving into a Liverpool fan outside a pub. The fan suffered a broken leg in the incident, which police said was accidental.

Barton appeared keen to keep a low profile yesterday. Said Gus: "We're just here to chill."