Joey Barton sentenced for posting grossly offensive social media messages
Former footballer Joey Barton was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and an 18-month suspension at Liverpool Crown Court for making six seriously offensive social media posts.
In November, the 43-year-old former Premier League footballer was found guilty of six counts of sending grossly offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or alarm.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton had “crossed the line between freedom of expression and crime” with six posts he made on X (formerly Twitter) about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.
Following the televised FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton in January 2024, Barton likened Ward and Aluko to “Fred and Rose West’s football commentary” in a post on X.
He proceeded to superimpose the faces of the two women onto a photo of the serial killers. At Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, Barton was given a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Barton also tweeted that Aluko was in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category” because he “killed the ears of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans.”
Jurors found him not guilty of the Stalin/Pol Pot comparison as well as the commentary analogy to the West, but ruled the superimposed image was grossly offensive.
He was also convicted for a post regarding Aluko where he wrote, “Just there to check the boxes. DEI is a bunch of bullshit. Affirmative action. All behind the BLM/George Floyd bullshit.”
In a statement following Barton’s conviction, Aluko said: “Social media is a cesspit where many people feel they can say things they would never dream of saying to others in real life under the guise of freedom of expression.
“This is a reminder that online actions do not come without consequences.
“Joey Barton’s messages to me, Lucy Ward and Jeremy Vine were extremely distressing and had a truly damaging impact on my life and career. “I’m glad justice has been served.
Barton repeatedly referred to Vine as a “bicycle moment” and asked him: “Have you been to Epstein Island? Are you going to go into these flight logs? You better admit it now because if I see you near an elementary school on your bike, I’m calling the police.”
He was condemned for a post shared by Epstein and a tweet in which he said: “Oh @the JeremyVine Rolf-aroo and Schofield went on a tandem bike tour? You big bike this time”.
Barton was also found guilty of other Vine-related tweets in which he referred to himself as the “bike man” and said: “If you see this man near a primary school, call 999” and “Watch out for the man with a helmet and a camera walking past primary schools. If seen, call the police.”
He was cleared of guilt for the remaining three tweets referencing Vine.
Barton, from Huyton, Merseyside, has played for a number of clubs throughout his career, including Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers. He was also deployed once for England.
