Ex-Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton spared jail for 'grossly offensive' posts View 3 Images

Former Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton has avoided a prison sentence after posting grossly offensive social media content targeting broadcaster Jeremy Vine and television football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Last month a jury at Liverpool Crown Court determined that Barton, 43, who managed the Gas from 2021 to 2023, had "crossed the line between free speech and a crime" with six posts on X, formerly Twitter .

After a televised FA Cup match in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton, he compared Ward and Aluko to the "Fred and Rose West of football commentary" and proceeded to superimpose their faces onto a photograph of the serial killers. View 3 Images

In a separate post

See Full Page