Joey Barton, the former professional footballer, has been found guilty on six counts of sending “grossly offensive” social media posts targeting broadcaster Jeremy Vine and football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.
The 43-year-old Barton likened Aluko and Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West, and referred to Vine as a “bike nonce” in posts made between January and March 2024.
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court sided with the prosecution’s argument that Barton, a resident of Huyton, Merseyside, had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime.”
However, the former Manchester City and Newcastle player was acquitted of six other counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
Judge Andrew Menary KC cautioned Barton against wearing a scarf displaying a British flag in the dock, deeming it a “stunt,” and informed his legal team that he would not be permitted to wear it during his sentencing on December 8.
Barton was reminded that his bail conditions prohibit him from mentioning his three victims in any capacity before the hearing.
During the trial, Barton maintained that he was the victim of a “political prosecution” and described his comments aimed at football pundits Aluko and Ward as merely “dark and stupid humour.”
He stated that he had been “trying to make a serious point in a provocative way.”
Barton, who has 2.7 million followers on X, also claimed his posts about Vine were simply “crude banter” and that he never intended to imply the radio presenter was a paedophile by using the phrase “bike nonce.”
Jurors acquitted Barton of a charge related to a post containing a mock apology to Aluko for comparing her to Rose West.
The post went on to say: “She’s clearly in the Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category.”
“She’s murdered hundreds of thousands if not millions of football fan’s [sic] ears, in the last few years.”
However, the jury did convict Barton over a post in which he stated that ITV pundit Aluko was “only there to tick boxes.”
“All off the back of the [Black Lives Matter]/George Floyd nonsense,” he added.
Barton was cleared of writing that Ward and Aluko were the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary” following an FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton in January 2024.
But the former Fleetwood and Bristol Rovers manager was convicted of a count related to another post in which he superimposed their faces onto a photograph of the serial killers.
He was also convicted over posts suggesting Vine had visited “Epstein island” – a reference to the paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein – and one stating: “If you see this fella by a primary school call 999.”
In his closing speech to the jury of seven men and five women, prosecutor Peter Wright KC argued that Barton had crossed the line “by some considerable margin” beyond what is tolerable in society.
He stated that Barton was not “the victim here” and called the footballer: “A little bully who takes pleasure sitting there with his phone in his hand and then posting these slurs.”
Directing the jury, Judge Menary explained that the term “grossly offensive” in the charges required a “high bar” for conviction.
“The criminal law is not there to punish bad manners, sharp humour, or unpopular opinions,” he said.
“The law only intervenes when the content is of such an extreme, degrading or dehumanising character that society as a whole would say ‘that goes too far, that crosses the line of what we can tolerate’.”
Barton was released on bail, and Judge Menary ordered a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
The judge also warned him it would be “very foolish” to post anything on social media about the case before then.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Callum Bryce, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said Barton had “subjected three public figures to offences of malicious communications.”
“In his evidence before the court [Barton said] that in some of his messages he was trying to make a serious point in a provocative way and that in others he was simply joking,” he said.
“The finding of the jury confirmed that his conduct had gone beyond any joke and his messages were grossly offensive with the purpose of causing anxiety and distress to his victims.”
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