Barton is spared time in prison

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

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Last month, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton, 43, 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, he 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 sh*t. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense."

Barton repeatedly referred to Vine as "bike nonce" and asked him: "Have you been on Epstein Island? Are you going to be on these flight logs? Might as well own up now because I'd phone the police if I saw you near a primary school on ya bike."