Former UK Soccer Star And Manager, Joey Barton Has Been Found Guilty And Sentenced For X Posts You Would Not Believe Are Considered Crimes The Britian

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

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton, 43, had "crossed the line between free speech and a crime" with six posts he made on X, formerly Twitter.

He was cleared of six other counts that he sent a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024.

Following a televised FA Cup tie in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton, he likened Ward and Aluko in a post on X to the "Fred and Rose West of football commentary."

He went on to superimpose the faces of the two women onto a photograph of the serial murderers.

Barton also tweeted that Aluko was in the "Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category" as that she had "murdered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans' ears."

Jurors found him not guilty on the Stalin/Pol Pot comparison, and also the commentary analogy with the Wests, but ruled that the superimposed image was grossly offensive.

He was also convicted of a post in relation to Aluko in which 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."

UPDATE TODAY: Former footballer Joey Barton has avoided prison after he sent "grossly offensive" messages on social media about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Barton, 43, was found to have “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” on six charges with posts he made on social media platform X.

Sentencing him to six months in jail, suspended for 18 months, Judge Andrew Menary KC, at Liverpool Crown Court, told the ex-Manchester City, Newcastle United and Marseille player, time would tell if he would reoffend.