Chiefs keeper in dock over 'assault'

Kaizer Chiefs' No 2 goalkeeper, Arthur Bartman, might have been a life-saver during his team's victory on Saturday.

But yesterday, he briefly appeared in court for allegedly assaulting his estranged wife.

Bartman, 36, who made a number of heroic saves during his team's 1-0 victory at the weekend, appeared in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on charges of beating his wife Arriette, also 36, at their marital home in Buccleuch, north of Johannesburg, in June.

The football star allegedly insulted and slapped his wife and then kicked her in the ribs and hips during an argument while he was removing his clothes from the house.

During the fight, Bartman is also alleged to have kicked the family puppy in the mouth when it began biting him, causing the dog to bleed.

The couple are in the process of getting divorced. According to court papers, they have at least one child.

The player was not asked to plead to charges of assault and domestic violence, opting to exercise his right to silence before magistrate Silas Boloka yesterday.

Boloka postponed the case to February after a request from prosecutor Arnold Limekhaya to allow Bartman time to consult his new attorney.

Bartman recently appointed a new firm of attorneys to represent him, and his bail of R1000 was extended.