Joey Barton spared jail for ‘Fred and Rose West’ rant at Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward

Joey Barton has been spared jail for posting “grossly offensive” messages to football pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward and TV presenter Jeremy Vine on social media.

The former England star avoided prison earlier this year after he was found guilty of assaulting his wife Georgia Barton, 38, by pushing her to the ground, before kicking her in the head. His wife suffered a bleeding nose and lump on her forehead in the incident in June 2021, yet magistrates let Barton walk free with a 12-week jail sentence, suspended for two years, after hearing they were still in a “happy relationship” with a young child.

And the ex-Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers midfielder was spared prison again today, as he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, for what Judge Andrew Menary KC called “targeted, extreme and deliberately harmful” abuse that left his victims feeling “humiliated”. Barton had described Aluko and Ward as the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary,” while they were covering an FA Cup tie for ITV, before posting a superimposed image depicting the faces of the two women onto an image of the evil serial killers.

The court heard the former Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers manager, who has a following of 2.6 million on X, had also implied Vine held a sexual interest in children, often calling him a “bike nonce” on social media, after the BBC presenter questioned whether Barton – infamous for his online rants against women’s footballers and pundits – had a “brain injury”.

Barton – who arrived at court carrying a bag seemingly ready for prison – was found guilty of six counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024, following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court in July.

The 43-year-old, who played a single match for England against Spain in 2007, had also compared Aluko to infamous dictators the court heard, claiming she belonged in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category” as she had “murdered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears”.

The trial heard in another post, he wrote: “Only there to tick boxes. DEI is a load of s***. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense”. Judge Menary said this was a “racially charged” attack on Aluko.

Barton, from Widnes, Cheshire, who denied any wrongdoing, stated he believed himself to be the subject of a “political prosecution”, rejecting claims his intention was “to get clicks and promote himself”. In his defence, he adding his posts about Aluko and Ward were “dark and stupid humour” and he was “trying to make a serious point in a provocative way”.

Aluko told the jury the Fred and Rose West post felt like a “targeted attack” that left her feeling “scared”. The former Chelsea and England star said she was “devastated” by the remarks, especially after what she described as “supportive and encouraging” interactions with Barton between 2017 and 2020, and avoided leaving her home for a week because she felt “intimidated” and “depressed”.

Aluko said: “I think I was in shock to be honest, and the first thing I said was, ‘What happened? Was there anything in the show I said or that went wrong?’ I was trying to understand why someone would compare you to the worst serial killers the UK had ever seen based on commentary in a football match.”

Ward also said she felt “intimidated” for receiving abuse for doing her job as a commentator, adding: “I am one of the few females doing it, and I have already crossed over a lot of barriers. It’s tough to do your job with that happening. Fred and Rose West tortured, sexually abused and killed children, so I couldn’t really work out why I was being called that.”

The former Leeds star said: “At first, it was very, very harsh, but then obviously it continued. It was getting to the stage now where I got a little scared – physically scared, really.”

Other tweets directed at Jeremy Vine read: “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.” Judge Menary said these messages falsely identified Vine as a paedophile.

Prosecutors argued Barton had crossed the line “by some considerable margin” beyond what society finds acceptable. Peter Wright, KC, prosecuting, in his closing speech at the trial, said: “Mr Barton is not the victim here.

“He is not the free speech crusader that he would like to paint himself to be. He is not some martyr to be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.

“He is just simply an undiluted, unapologetic bully. A little bully who takes pleasure sitting there with his phone in his hand and then posting these slurs.”

In his sentencing, Judge Menary said freedom of expression was protected, but that did not extend to grossly offensive posts. He said: “When posts deliberately target individuals with vilifying comparisons to serial killers or false insinuations of paedophilia designed to humiliate and distress, they forfeit that protection.”

The judge said Barton would have to complete rehabilitation work and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community. He must also pay the prosecution’s costs of £23,000. He has 28 days to pay.

Barton had already lost a High Court libel battle to Vine last year, which left him forced to apologise twice on X, paying £110,000 in damages to the BBC 2 Radio Star, and eventually having to pay more than £200,000 of the presenter’s legal costs.

Vine sued Barton for libel and harassment over several online posts, including one in which he falsely called the BBC Radio 2 presenter a “big bike nonce” and a “p*** defender” on X.

Vine, who regularly addresses cycling-related topics and debates on his Channel 5 show, said in a statement in July: “Barton paid for the libel. He paid the costs. He paid interest on the costs. He paid the cost of losing a challenge on the costs.

“And he paid his own costs, which will be more than mine because he had fancier lawyers. He has lost at least half a million pounds.”