Joey Barton sentenced for 'offensive' posts on X

FORMER footballer Joey Barton has been spared going to jail after sending grossly offensive social media posts about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

- BY JON MACPHERSON

Last month a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton, 43, who lives in Widnes, had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with six posts on X, formerly Twitter.

Following a televised FA Cup tie in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton the ex-Fleetwood Town manager likened Ward and Aluko to the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary” and went on to superimpose their faces on to a photograph of the serial murderers.

In another post about Aluko, Barton said: “Only there to tick boxes. DEI is a load of s***. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/ George Floyd nonsense.”