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The former Newcastle and QPR player made derogatory tweets against women working in men's football
Former footballer Joey Barton has been charged with alleged 'malicious communications' towards pundit and former England star Eniola Aluko.
Barton’s controversial comments
Barton is set to appear in court on July 30 after an investigation by Cheshire Police and the charges stem from a series of offensive tweets Barton directed at Aluko and fellow pundit Lucy Ward.
In January, Barton compared Aluko and Ward to infamous serial killers Fred and Rose West, writing: "How is she even talking about men's football? She can't even kick a ball properly. Your coverage of the game EFC last night, took it to a new low. Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, the Fred and Rose West of football commentary."
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The comparison to the Wests, who murdered 12 women and young girls over two decades, sparked outrage. Barton further escalated his comments, likening Aluko to Joseph Stalin, stating she was "murdering hundreds of thousands of fans' ears."
Eni Aluko laments Barton tirades
Aluko, the sister of former Nigerian Eaglets, Dream Team, and Super Eagles star Sone Aluko, described Barton's tweets as one of the worst cases of social media abuse she had ever experienced. Despite being accustomed to online abuse, Aluko emphasized the impact of Barton's attacks, given his substantial following on social media.
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"I can only describe it as waves caving in on you," Aluko told BBC Breakfast in February. "The nature of Joey Barton's tweets were consecutive over the course of a week. There were several tweets, he continued to double-down even after ITV came out in mine and Lucy Ward's defence."
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Aluko criticized social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), for promoting harmful content and failing to protect users from abuse. "We have a platform on X that actively promotes people like Joey Barton's content through the algorithms and through the way that X is now constructed.
I just don't accept that it is just a platform that people can express their freedom of speech. I've been driven off the platform and my freedom of speech is not protected."
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Despite the charges, Barton still claims that he has done nothing wrong, and said that the charges against him were the symptom of a failed legal system.
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