Former footballer Joey Barton’s social media comments about pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine were “childish, infantile behavior by a grown man” that “crossed the pale of what is tolerated in society”, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday.
The 43-year-old called Ward and Eluko the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary”, referring to the infamous British serial killers, on his X account and in another post that superimposed their faces on a photo of the mass murderers.
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Barton went on to criticize broadcaster ITV, which hired the pair as part of an FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton in January 2024, for forcing “underqualified, undertrained, token people” on us. The former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder added: “I don’t care anymore. We’ve all had enough of your ‘woke’, ‘DEI’ bullshit.
Two days later, Barton posted again about former England international Aluko, writing that he had time to “reflect on the impact of my words after @itvfootball’s big statement. He is clearly in the Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category. He has murdered hundreds of thousands if not millions of football fans’ ears over the last few years”.
When the TV and radio presenter Vine used his own X account to respond to Barton’s comments, the former Fleetwood Town manager took aim at him, calling him a “nonce”, a slang term for a pedophile.
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“I would call the police if I saw you near an elementary school on a bike,” Barton wrote. He later wrote to his 2.7 million followers on the social network platform: “If you see this guy from primary school call 999.”
Appearing in court on Monday, Barton pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of sending a grossly offensive communication intended to cause distress or anxiety.
Prosecutor Peter Wright KC told the jury of seven men and five women that Barton “crossed the line between freedom of speech and crime 12 times” in his X messages about the trio and ITV Sport’s FA Cup matches.
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“Everyone has a right to express views that are all of these things,” Wright said. “They even have the right in a democratic, free society to express views that are offensive, shocking or personally rude when held against and applied to the current standards of an open, fair, multiracial, equal and diverse society.
“What no one has the right to do is send electronic communications that – by following those standards – exceed what is acceptable in society.
“He targeted three people who are variously in the public eye and subjected them to grossly offensive electronic communications through this medium with the intent to cause distress or anxiety.
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“The defendant has cultivated a public distaste for female commentators on men’s football. Given the size of his following reading these posts, some expressing likes, some disliking and some neither. Whether that is a cynical ploy to increase his following in certain circles or a genuine belief is for you (the jury) to decide.
ITV responded to his initial posts with a statement criticizing his “revengeful remarks”, calling them “despicable and disgraceful”.
“The defendant’s response was not to reflect or retreat, but to react,” added Wright. Barton posted: “I’m calling them all serial killers from now on. Every video you post.”
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Called as a witness, ITV Sport producer Guney Gok said he learned of Barton’s messages the day after the game and after speaking to his boss decided to “check with Eni and Lucy to show them my support”.
Gok said Aluko was unaware of the reaction until she called him to point it out and he was “shocked and upset”. Ward had already seen Barton’s comments, and his reaction was not so “crude in that regard.” He later called Aluko again and said “he was shocked by the nature and seriousness of the posts”.
Under cross-examination by Simon Csoka KC, defending Barton, Gok said ITV Sport had “no quotas” for including women on its broadcast. “The team we had (for the FA Cup match) all had a history of working in football, so I was confident we had a very strong line-up for that show,” he added.
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Asked by Csoka if he was aware of Aluko’s criticism of former Arsenal and England men’s player Ian Wright’s involvement in rape in the women’s game, Gok said: “Yes, I am. I have no problem with men working in women’s football and women working in men’s football.”
The trial continues on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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