Marvin Bartley

Early and non-league career

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Bartley started his career with his hometown club, Reading, playing in the youth setup before being released as a teenager. Bartley then joined the Hayes Football Education Development Opportunity (FEDO) program to help develop his skills, of which he graduated from in 2004. He then joined Southern Football League side Burnham where he played alongside his two brothers, Mark and Michael. He made his début for Burnham on 21 August 2004, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Evesham United. His final appearance came in a 3–2 defeat to Sutton Coldfield Town on 30 October. He made a total of eight appearances for the Blues, without scoring. Bartley then made a swift return to his former club, Conference South side Hayes during the season along with his brother Mark. His début came on 12 February 2005, in a 3–2 away win over Sutton United. He finished the season as a first-team regular making a total of eight appearances for Hayes in the 2004–05 season as they finished mid-table. In May 2005, he signed a new two-year contract to stay at the club. His first appearance of the 2005–06 season was on 13 August 2005, in a 1–0 win over newly promoted Eastleigh. His first career goal came on 10 September, when he scored the second in a 2–0 victory over Bishop's Stortford. His second goal came on 12 November, when he scored the winner in a 2–1 away win at Carshalton Athletic. His final goal of the season and for Hayes…

On 7 January 2023, Bartley was named as the new manager of Scottish League One club Queen of the South. On 4 May 2024, Bartley departed the Dumfries club by mutual consent after their last league match of the 2023–24 season. Following his spell at Queen of the South, Bartley returned to Livingston as part of David Martindale's coaching team. Amid a run of 22 games without a win during the 2025–26 Scottish Premiership season, on 1 February 2026 Martindale stepped down and became sporting director with Bartley appointed as manager. Bartley resigned on 7 May 2026, following the club's relegation to the Championship. On 9 June 2026 Bartley was appointed manager of Stenhousemuir, who had recently been promoted to the Championship.

During the 2019–20 season Bartley appeared as a pundit for coverage of Scottish football by BBC Scotland and BT Sport. In June 2020, Bartley appeared on a special podcast panel discussing his experiences of racism in football with A View from the Terrace host Craig Fowler. He is also a regular panellist on Sportscene and Clyde 1's Superscoreboard.

Bartley was born in England and is of Jamaican descent. He was fined £400 in November 2017 after he was found guilty of threatening a woman. Bartley accused BBC radio presenter, Tam Cowan, of bullying in December 2022 via social media. Cowan criticised Bartley after he had spoken out about alleged racist abuse of Jair Tavares during a match against Dundee United in October 2022. In the same social media post, Bartley insinuated that Cowan also had a problem with his partner, Sky Sports presenter Eilidh Barbour. Cowan had been critical of Barbour after the presenter had voiced their disgust over sexist and racist comments made by a speaker at the Scottish Football Writers' Association awards in 2021.