Former footballer and manager Joey Barton has been found guilty of sending highly offensive social media posts about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV pundits Lucy Ward and Ene Aluko.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found that Barton, 43, had “crossed the line between freedom of expression and crime” through six posts he made on the website X, previously on Twitter.
He was acquitted of six further charges relating to sending a grossly offensive email with intent to cause distress or alarm between January and March 2024.
Barton was granted bail ahead of sentencing on December 8.
After a televised FA Cup match in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton, Ward and Aloko likened a post on X to “Fred and Rose West’s football commentary”.
He superimposed the faces of the two women onto the images of the serial killers.
Barton also tweeted that Aluko was in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot” category because she “killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears.”
The jury found him not guilty of the comparison between Stalin and Pol Pot, as well as the comment to the West, but ruled that the superimposed image was grossly offensive.
He was also condemned for a post related to Aluko in which he wrote: “Just there to check boxes. DEI is a whole lot of s—. Affirmative action. All of it behind the BLM/George Floyd bullshit.”
The former Manchester City, Newcastle and Marseille midfielder – who is now a social commentator with 2.7 million followers on
Barton repeatedly referred to Fine as the “unofficial biker” and asked him: “Were you on Epstein’s island? Are you going to be on those flight logs? Maybe I should confess now because I’ll call the police if I see you near an elementary school on your bike.”
He was condemned over Epstein’s post and tweet in which he said: “Oh @JeremyVine, did Rolf Arrow and Schofield go out on a tandem bike ride? What a great bike.”
Barton was also found guilty of other tweets related to Vine which read: “If you see this person near a primary school call 999” and “Beware of man with helmet camera walking around near primary schools. Call the cops if spotted.”
He was acquitted of guilt due to three remaining tweets mentioning Vine.
Liverpool’s honorary registrar, Andrew Minary, noted that the defendant was wearing a Union Jack scarf while returning the sentences.
The judge told the court: “He has chosen to adorn himself with a particular flag, which I believe is a ploy to make a point. He will not be allowed to do so on his sentencing date.”
