Joey Barton could be back in court next year after Eni Aluko reportedly filed a civil suit against him for defamation and harassment following his trial in Liverpool.
Joey Barton could face new legal action over controversial online comments after being found guilty of sending grossly offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or anxiety. A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found the former footballer guilty of six charges on Friday, with a civil trial reportedly scheduled for May.
Mr Barton appeared in court last week over posts he wrote on X about football pundit Eni Aluko, commentator Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine. The jury accepted prosecutors’ argument that some of his comments, including comparing Mr. Aluko and Mr. Ward to “football pundits Fred and Rose West,” “crossed the line between free speech and criminality.”
The 43-year-old, who has 2.7 million followers on He denied the charges but was found guilty on six charges and acquitted on six others.
The Guardian now reports that Mr Aluko has filed a separate civil lawsuit against Mr Barton, alleging defamation and harassment. The case is scheduled to be heard in the High Court in May and will reportedly claim that Ms Aluko was defamed in two social media posts and that a number of other posts about her from Mr Barton amount to harassment.
read more: Joey Barton found guilty of ‘offensive’ X post aimed at female criticread more: Joey Barton ‘left Jeremy Vine out of fear for his safety’ following vile social media posts
In a statement released after his sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, Mr Aluko said: “Social media is a cesspool where too many people feel they can say things to others in the name of freedom of speech that they would never dream of in real life. This is a reminder that there are always consequences for our actions online.”
“Joey Barton’s messages to me, Lucy Ward and Jeremy Vine were deeply distressing and had a real negative impact on my life and career. I’m glad justice has been served.”
She has now spoken out about the incident in an interview with Sky News. “I was devastated. It happened out of the blue. I was just doing my job and it didn’t make sense,” Aluko said Monday.
“For the first week, I was really crippled and didn’t feel like I could do anything. After calling the police, I left the country because I just couldn’t stand this fishbowl experience where it felt like everyone was talking about me.”
“You become very paranoid that it leads to physical violence, that you know someone accosted you on the street and what was said to you. That’s the thing about online abuse. There’s an invisible part to it, and it makes you feel very uncomfortable.”
Asked about Burton’s accusation that he was “just there to check a box,” Aluko responded, “That’s pure racism, right? Because when you’re light-skinned, despite everything I’ve ever done and all the effort I’ve put in.”
“This is pure racism, in my opinion, because I had to go through some difficult things to get to where I am now. And I’m glad the jury found that a line was crossed.”
