Lynette Horsburghnorth west
Former footballer Joey Barton has been given a suspended sentence for social media posts about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Annie Aluko.
Barton, 43, was found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court of sending extremely offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or alarm.
The trial heard he “crossed the line between free speech and crime” with six posts on X, including comparing Aluko and Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West and calling Vine a “bike nonce” between January and March 2024.
Barton, originally from Huyton, Merseyside, was given six months in custody, suspended for 18 months.
The former Manchester City and Newcastle player was also told by Liverpool’s Honorary Recorder, Judge Andrew Menary Casey, to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and pay more than £20,000 in costs.
Following a televised FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton in January 2024, Barton compared Ward and Aluko to “the Fred and Rose West of football commentary” and superimposed their faces onto a photo of serial killers.
Speaking to the BBC after leaving court, Barton said: “If I could turn back the clock I would.
“I never intended to offend anyone. It was a joke that got out of hand.”
He added, “Nobody wants to go to jail.”
Barton, who has 2.7 million followers on
He was found not guilty of six other charges that he sent extremely offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or alarm between January and March 2024.
Jurors acquitted Barton, now of Widnes, Cheshire, over noted resemblance to West, but rejected the accused image grossly objectionable,
Giving evidence, Barton, who managed Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers, said he believed he was the victim of “political prosecution” and denied that his aim was to “get clicks and promote himself”.
At sentencing, Judge Menary Casey told Barton: “Ligorous debate, satire, ridicule and even foul language can fall within the scope of acceptable free speech.
“But when posts deliberately target individuals with derogatory comparisons to serial killers or false accusations of pedophilia, designed to humiliate and harass, they lose their protection.
“As the jury concluded, your crimes exemplify behavior that exceeds this limit – amounting to a sustained campaign of online abuse that was not just comment but targeted, extreme and intentionally harmful.”
The judge said that although he was convinced that the “custodial limit” had been crossed in the case, he was prepared to suspend the jail sentence.
He said Barton has taken steps to control his online behaviour, but added, “Only time will tell whether this resolve will be sustained”.
A two-year banning order was issued against each of his victims, which included publishing references to them on any social media platform or broadcast medium.
Following the verdict, a spokesperson for Cheshire Police said the force hoped the case would deter others using social media to share “abusive and hateful messages”.
He said Barton’s post “may have been seen by hundreds, if not thousands, of people, and yet he showed no attention or consideration to what impact it would have on his victims and their well-being”.
“The sentence handed down to him today comes with a number of strict conditions and if he breaches these in any way he faces the possibility of a return behind bars.”
‘Relieves pain’
Responding to the news of Barton’s sentencing, Vine said: “I’m pleased the case is over.
“Joey Barton has paid a very high price for his disgusting lies and abuse, but I fear he will continue to offend until the day he dies.”
In its victim impact statement, which was read out in court earlier, the broadcaster said Barton’s actions were “deeply shocking”.
“I felt my reputation had been tarnished,” he said.
“Joey Barton is a little man who takes on the pain of others.”
In her statement, Ward called Barton’s post “irresponsible” and “disgusting.”
“I feel constantly scared now,” she said. “Not just the defendant, but the people he has incited against me and his history heighten my fear.”
He said the “barrage of hate” had made him “question my own worth.”
In Aluko’s impact statement, she said Barton’s comments were “disgusting and the most offensive criticism she has experienced in her life” and that she had to increase security as a result.
She said, “I am deeply disturbed and insulted by the malicious comparison to serial killers as millions of people may have seen this comparison.”
This was unfair and unjust, she said, resulting in her becoming too afraid to leave her home, resulting in canceled events and loss of income.