Sports
Ex-Footballer Joey Barton Avoids Jail Over Offensive Posts
Former Premier League footballer Joey Barton has received a six-month suspended sentence for posting grossly offensive content on social media targeting British broadcaster Jeremy Vine and sports pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.
Barton was sentenced on Monday by Judge Andrew Menary at Liverpool Crown Court, following last month’s jury ruling that he had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with several posts on X (formerly Twitter).
The 43-year-old ex-footballer, who has 2.6 million followers on the platform, was convicted over six offensive posts, leading to his sentence being suspended for 18 months.
The posts were made following a televised FA Cup match in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton. In the posts, Barton likened Ward and Aluko to the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary” and superimposed their faces onto an image of the notorious serial killer couple. Jurors found the superimposed image grossly offensive.
He also tweeted that Eni Aluko, a former England women’s international, belonged in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category,” claiming she had “murdered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears.”
Barton was acquitted of charges related to the dictator comparison and the West analogy, but found guilty on the image post.
He was also convicted over another post implying Aluko—who is Black—was a diversity hire.
In a separate ruling, Barton was found guilty of using an offensive term implying that presenter Jeremy Vine had a sexual interest in children, after Vine questioned whether Barton had a “brain injury.” Additionally, he was convicted over a post suggesting Vine had connections to Jeffrey Epstein, referencing the deceased US sex offender.
He was, however, found not guilty of six other allegations of sending grossly offensive electronic communications intended to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024.
During the trial, Barton claimed he was the victim of a “political prosecution,” insisting his posts were not intended to “get clicks and promote himself.”
