'Grossly offensive' Barton avoids jail over X messages

Former footballer Joey Barton has avoided being sent to prison after sending six grossly offensive social media posts.

- DAN HAYGARTH

In November, the ex-Premier League player, 43, was convicted of six counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with six posts he made on X (formerly Twitter) about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Following a televised FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton in January 2024, Barton likened Ward and Aluko in a post on X to the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary”. He went on to superimpose the faces of the two women onto a photograph of the serial murderers.

Barton had also tweeted that Aluko was in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category” as she had “murdered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears”.

Jurors found him not guilty on the Stalin/Pol Pot comparison, and also the commentary analogy with the Wests, but ruled the superimposed image was grossly offensive.

He was also convicted of a post in relation to Aluko in which he wrote: “Only there to tick boxes. DEI is a load of shit. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense”.

In a statement after Barton’s conviction, Aluko said: “Social media is a cesspit where too many people feel they can say things to others they wouldn’t dream of saying in real life under the guise of freedom of speech. This is a reminder that actions online do not come without consequences.