Eni Aloko says “justice has been served” following the conviction of Joey Barton

Football critic Eni Aloko says she is “glad justice has been served” after former England international Joey Barton was found guilty of making “deeply offensive” social media posts targeting her and other broadcasters.

In early 2024, Barton compared Aluko and commentator Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West, and described Jeremy Vine as a “bicycle character”.

Prosecutors told Liverpool Crown Court that Barton had “crossed the line between freedom of expression and crime”.

In a statement issued after Barton’s conviction, qualified barrister Aluko said: “Social media is a cesspool where too many people feel they can say things to others they wouldn’t dream of saying in real life under the guise of freedom of expression.”

She added: “This is a reminder that actions online do not come without consequences.

“The letters addressed to myself, Lucy Ward and Jeremy Vine from Joy Barton were extremely hurtful and have had a truly devastating impact on my life and career.

“I’m glad justice was served.”

The jury convicted Barton, the 43-year-old former Manchester City, Newcastle and Queens Park Rangers midfielder, of six counts of making grossly offensive social media posts, and acquitted him of six others.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8.

After the guilty verdicts, Ward – who told the trial that Parton’s posts appeared to be “constant harassment” – published an Instagram post in which she wrote: “Freedom of expression does not mean freedom from consequences.

“The last two years have been very difficult and terrifying at times.”

Pundits were working on ITV’s coverage of an FA Cup tie in January 2024 when Barton suggested they were “Fred and Rose West’s football commentary”.

He placed critics’ faces on the image of married serial killers, who also tortured and raped a number of women between 1967 and 1987.

Barton also posted that Aluko was in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot” category, saying she had “killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears.”

The jury found him not guilty in comparison to the tyrants of the 20th century and the West, but they ruled that the superimposed image was highly offensive.

Barton, originally from Huyton on Merseyside, was also convicted over a post in which he claimed Aluko was “just there to tick boxes” as he criticized diversity schemes.

His post said her input was “all from behind BLM [Black Lives Matter]“George Floyd’s nonsense,” referring to the killing of a black man at the hands of American police in 2020.

Parton, who has 2.6 million followers on

He was convicted over posts suggesting Fine had visited “Epstein Island” – a reference to billionaire child rapist Jeffrey Epstein – and someone saying: “If you see this guy near a primary school, call 999.”