Credit: Imago/t.barry29 on Instagram

Declan Carr

Mon 16 March 2026 12:10, UK

Thierno Barry made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the aftermath of Everton‘s 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Saturday.

Barry had secured tickets for his friends in the away end at the Emirates Stadium for the 14 March clash, but they had to be escorted away after an altercation with fans.

There was an altercation with Toffees supporters, and the club are working with police to establish the facts of what happened.

Barry has not started his career brilliantly in English football, and the latest situation has not helped the young forward.

Goodison News looks at Barry’s contract situation with Everton and how the latest situation could affect it.

What did Barry do and why was it so controversial?

Barry went straight to social media after the contest to condemn the incident, without all the facts being established, which annoyed some Blues supporters.

He then doubled down on that, with a statement on his Instagram story on 15 March, that only further enraged some supporters.

He said: “The stewards present witnessed the scene, my friends were insulted, how is that possible?

“Violence has no place in football, regardless of the circumstances.”

It is a messy situation at the moment, and hopefully, it can all be resolved shortly, and he can continue to develop and thrive with the Blues.

What is his contract situation?

Barry signed a four-year contract when he joined the Blues in a £27million deal from Villarreal last summer.

That means he will be in L4 until 30 June 2029, if he stays for the remainder of that deal, and is not sold beforehand.

The 23-year-old has had an underwhelming start to his spell with Toffees, with six goals in 33 appearances so far.

How can Barry come back from this?

Barry could issue an apology; that would be one way to sort out the issue.

The best way for him to ensure that supporters are back on side, though, is with his performances on the pitch.

If he starts scoring goals regularly for the Merseysiders, then surely all will be swept under the rug and forgotten about.

The situation has caused significant controversy among the fanbase, but it is not irredeemable for the young Frenchman.

It is understandable that he is upset, given that his friends and people he knows personally were involved, but the facts are not known, and he perhaps should have waited to comment.