Joey Barton Convicted for Offensive Social Media Posts

Former soccer player and manager Joey Barton has been found guilty of sending grossly offensive social media posts targeting broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court determined that Barton, 43, had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with six posts he made on X, previously known as Twitter. He was acquitted of six additional counts regarding sending grossly offensive electronic communications with the intent to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024.

Barton has been granted bail ahead of his sentencing scheduled for December 8.

In a post following a televised FA Cup tie in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton, Barton compared Ward and Aluko to the infamous serial killers Fred and Rose West. He further exacerbated the situation by superimposing their faces onto a photograph of the Wests.

Additionally, Barton tweeted that Aluko fell into the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category” due to her supposed impact on football commentary, claiming she had “murdered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears.” Though jurors acquitted him of the Stalin/Pol Pot comparison and the analogy involving the Wests, they ruled that the superimposed image was indeed grossly offensive.

He was also convicted for a post regarding Aluko in which he disparaged diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, stating: “Only there to tick boxes. DEI is a load of s—. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense.”

Barton, a former midfielder for Manchester City, Newcastle, and Marseille, is now a social commentator with 2.7 million followers on X. He suggested that Vine had inappropriate interests after the presenter questioned if Barton had a “brain injury.”

He repeatedly referred to Vine as “bike nonce” and posed provocative questions implying criminal behavior, stating: “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.”

Barton was convicted over these comments, including a post that read: “Oh @theJeremyVine, did you Rolf-aroo and Schofield go out on a tandem bike ride? You big bike nonce ya.”

He was also found guilty of other tweets regarding Vine that warned: “If you see this fella by a primary school call 999” and “Beware Man with Camera on his helmet cruising past primary schools. Call the Cops if spotted.” He was cleared of guilt concerning three remaining tweets about Vine.

During the proceedings, Andrew Menary, the honorary recorder of Liverpool, noted that Barton was wearing a Union Jack-patterned scarf when the verdicts were announced. The judge remarked that Barton had chosen to wear that particular scarf as a stunt to make a statement, and he will not be allowed to do so on the sentencing date.