Joey Barton handed suspended sentence over offensive X posts

Former footballer Joey Barton was given a suspended prison sentence for social media posts about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Barton, 43, was found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court of sending grossly offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or alarm.

The hearing heard he “crossed the line between free speech and crime” with six posts, including comparing Aluko and Ward on X to serial killers Fred and Rose West and calling Vine a “bicycle one-off” between January and March 2024.

Barton, originally from Huyton, Merseyside, was given a six-month custodial sentence and suspended for 18 months.

The former Manchester City and Newcastle player was forced to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and pay more than £20,000 in costs by Judge Andrew Menary KC, who is also Liverpool’s Honorary Recorder.

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” and went on to superimpose their faces onto a photograph of serial killers.

Speaking to the BBC after leaving the pitch, Barton said: “If I could turn back the clock I would.

“I never meant to hurt anyone. It was a joke that got out of hand.”

He added: “Nobody wants to go to jail.”

Barton, who has 2.7 million followers on

He was also found not guilty of six other counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024.

Jurors cleared Barton, who now lives in Widnes, Cheshire, of the commentary comparison to Wests, but the overlapping image grossly offensive.

Giving evidence, Barton, who managed Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers, said he believed he was the victim of a “political investigation” and denied his aim was to “get clicks and promote himself”.

Sentencing, Judge Menary KC told Barton: “Vigorous debate, satire, ridicule and even vulgar language may fall within the scope of permissible freedom of expression.

“But when posts deliberately target individuals with derogatory comparisons to serial killers or false insinuations of pedophilia designed to humiliate and upset, they lose their protection.

“The jury’s conclusion is that your crimes exemplify behavior beyond this boundary, amounting to a sustained campaign of online harassment that is not merely commentary but is targeted, excessive and deliberately harmful.”

The judge said he believed the “detention threshold” had been exceeded in this case, but was prepared to postpone these prison sentences.

He noted that Barton had taken steps to moderate his online behavior but added that “only time will tell whether this determination will continue.”

A two-year restraining order was issued against each of his victims, which includes publishing any reference to them on any social media platform or broadcast medium.

Following the verdict, a Cheshire Police spokesman said police hoped the case would deter others from using social media to share “malicious and hateful messages”.

They said Barton’s posts “may have been seen by hundreds if not thousands of people, but he showed no consideration or consideration for how this would impact the victims and their well-being.”

“The sentence handed down to him today comes with a number of strict conditions and if he breaches these in any way he could face the possibility of being behind bars.”

In a victim impact statement read in court, Vine said Barton’s actions were “deeply traumatic”.

“I felt my reputation was tarnished.”

He added: “Joey Barton is a little man who preys on the pain of others.”

In her victim impact statement, Ward described Barton’s posts as “irresponsible” and “hateful”.

“I am now constantly afraid, not just of the defendant, but of those he has incited against me and his past.”

He added that the “barrage of hate” made him “question my own value.”

In his impact statement, Aluko said Barton’s comments were “disgusting and the most offensive criticism he has ever encountered” and that he had to increase security as a result.

“I am deeply saddened by malicious comparisons to serial killers and feel humiliated given that millions of people will have seen this comparison,” he said.

He said this was inappropriate and unfair, adding that as a result he was too afraid to leave his home, which led to engagements being canceled and loss of income.