Ex-footballer Joey Barton avoids jail over 'grossly offensive' social media posts
Barton was sentenced to six months in custody, suspended for 18 months(Image: Andrew Stenning/Daily Mirror)Former Premier League 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.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 Ms Ward and Ms Aluko to the "Fred and Rose West of football commentary" and went on to superimpose their faces onto a photograph of the serial murderers.Joey Barton arrives for sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Andrew Stenning/Daily Mirror)In another post about Ms Aluko, Barton, who won one England cap, said: "Only there to tick boxes. DEI is a load of shit. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense."Barton repeatedly referred to Mr 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."The ex-Manchester City, Newcastle United and Marseille player - now a social commentator with 2.7 million followers on X - also tweeted: "Oh the JeremyVine Did you Rolf-aroo and Schofield go out on a tandem bike ride? You big bike nonce ya."Barton, who also played for Queens Park Rangers, Burnley, and Rangers, was convicted over two further tweets about Mr 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."Barton played for Newcastle United, Manchester City, QPR and Burnley in England's top-flight(Image: PA)He was found not guilty of six other allegations that he sent a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024.Jurors cleared Barton, of Widnes, Cheshire, over the commentary analogy with the Wests but ruled the superimposed image was grossly offensive.Giving evidence, Barton, who has managed Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers, said he believed he was the victim of a "political prosecution" and denied his aim was "to get clicks and promote himself".At Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, Judge Andrew Menary KC sentenced Barton to six months in custody, suspended for 18 months.
