Former footballer Joey Barton received a suspended prison sentence after a court found he had launched a sustained campaign of online abuse targeting three television personalities. At Liverpool Crown Court on June 29, Barton, 43, was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for 18 months, for sending grossly offensive electronic communications with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

Barton’s abusive messages were directed at current affairs presenter Jeremy Vine and football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko. The judge described the attacks as deliberate efforts to humiliate the victims, noting that with 2.8 million followers on social media platform X, Barton had encouraged others to participate in the harassment.

The court heard that Barton’s posts included repeated false allegations that Vine was a paedophile and featured offensive images superimposing Ward and Aluko’s faces onto photographs of serial killers Fred and Rose West. The judge characterized the attack on Aluko as both racially aggravated and sexist.

Barton was unanimously convicted last month on six counts related to his social media conduct, which spanned a sustained and targeted campaign of online abuse. In addition to the suspended sentence, he received restraining orders prohibiting him from contacting or posting about Vine, Ward, or Aluko for two years. Barton was also ordered to pay court costs totaling £23,419 and complete 200 hours of community service.

During sentencing, the judge acknowledged Barton had disclosed a history of long-standing alcohol difficulties that contributed to his past behavior. While Barton has six prior convictions, including assaults in 2008, the judge determined these were not relevant to the current case. He further observed that Barton had taken some steps to moderate his online conduct but emphasized that only time would reveal whether these efforts would be sustained. The judge added that the severity of Barton’s abuse placed it beyond protection under free speech arguments.

In victim impact statements read in court, Aluko described Barton’s posts as “the most abhorrent, extreme and offensive criticism I’ve ever experienced,” expressing that the attacks left her fearful to leave home. She said the association of her name with the West serial killers caused her profound distress. Ward similarly described the abuse as an “abomination,” revealing that the offending post had been viewed approximately 3.5 million times. She told the court that Barton had “weaponised his fanbase against me” and that the experience had severely affected her ability to perform a job she loves.

Following the ruling, Barton announced he would step away from social media platform X.