Ex-footballer Joey Barton sentenced for posting grossly offensive social media messages

Former footballer Joey Barton has avoided jail after sending six grossly offensive social media posts.

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 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 s**t. 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.

“The messages directed at me, Lucy Ward and Jeremy Vine by Joey Barton were deeply distressing and had a real damaging impact on my life and career. I am glad that justice has been served.”

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.”

He was convicted over the Epstein post and a tweet in which he said: “Oh @the JeremyVine Did you Rolf-aroo and Schofield go out on a tandem bike ride? You big bike nonce ya”.

Barton was also found guilty of other tweets in relation to Vine in which he referred to him as “bike nonce” and said: “If you see this fella by a primary school call 999,” and “Beware Man with Camera on his helmets cruising past primary schools. Call the Cops if spotted”.

He was cleared of guilt over three remaining tweets referring to Vine. At Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, Barton was handed a sentence of six months in custody, suspended for 18 months.

Barton, from Huyton, Merseyside, played for a number of clubs, including Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers, across his career. He was also capped once for England.

He went on to manage Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers after retiring from playing. He is now a podcaster with with 2.7 million followers on X.