Eni Aluko is suing Joey Barton ‘for calling her Rose West’ – weeks after he had to pay Jeremy Vine £75,000 for branding him a “bike nonce”.
Out-of-work football manager Barton, 41, took aim at ex-Chelsea and England star Aluko and co-commentator Lucy Ward when they were covering an FA Cup third-round tie for ITV in January. Watching the match between Crystal Palace and Everton, Barton criticised their coverage online – referencing serial murderers and genocidal dictators.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the former Manchester City midfielder said: “How is she even talking about Men’s football. She can’t even kick a ball properly. Your coverage of the game EFC last night, took it to a new low. Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, the Fred and Rose West of football commentary.”
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Barton, who was sacked by League One side Bristol Rovers last October, later added: “On reflection, I feel I’ve been a tad harsh on Eni Aluko by comparing her to Rose West. She’s clearly in the Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category. She’s murdered hundreds of thousands of football fans ears in the last few years. Meritocracy Rules!”
The Sun reports Aluko has officially filing a new defamation case against the former Fleetwood Town manager, by lodging documents at the High Court. Serial killers Fred and Rose West murdered 12 women and young girls over the course of 20 years, typically burying them in the cellar or garden of their Gloucester home, which became known as the “House of Horrors”.
Communist leader Stalin was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century, during which time he led the “Great Purge”, in which some 700,000 people were arrested and executed, while a further 1.5m people died in his Gulag labour camps. Pol Pot was another communist dictator who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979, when his administration perpetrated the Cambodian genocide.
Ms Aluko, 37, who was capped 102 times for England, said Barton’s comments led to a torrent of abuse online, which left her scared to leave the house. At the time, Samuel Solicitors issued Barton a letter stating that his post “made untrue, inaccurate and defamatory allegations” that caused Aluko and her family “extreme upset, distress and harm to her reputation”.
(Image: PA)
Barton is known for his criticism of female footballers and pundits, and his comments about Aluko and Ward were labelled “vindictive remarks” by ITV. That prompted Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville to criticise Barton while praising ITV’s response. “Well done ITV. It’s gone too far this and mentioning serial killers is quite simply incredible,” he wrote on X.
The campaign group Women in Football also praised the channel for coming out in support of the pair. They said: “We call on all employers in the football industry to show the same support for their female employees and take all possible measures to ensure their well-being in the current epidemic of misogynistic abuse. As the leading agency driving gender equality in football we stand with all those who suffer such abuse.”
(Image: PA)
Barton was forced to apologise to BBC star Jeremy Vine, 59, after suggesting he had a sexual interest in children, calling him a “bike nonce” and “paedo defender”, in a a string of vile posts. The Radio 2 presenter sued Barton and in May the High Court ruled the comments were defamatory. Barton paid £75,000 in damages and legal cost, then a further £35,000 for posts published after Mr Vine took legal action.
Vine also used Samuels Solicitors to pursue legal action against the ex-Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers, Marseille, Burnley and Glasgow Rangers star.