Joey Barton has appeared in court via videolink charged with sending offensive messages to commentator Lucy Ward and TV presenter Jeremy Vine on Twitter.
The former Bristol Rovers manager, who once played 13 minutes for England, faced Chester Magistrates’ Court by videolink on Thursday charged with two counts of sending communications of an indecent/offensive nature. He had been due to appear in person but Richard Derby, defending, said he was unable to attend as he had not been made aware of the date and was “minding the children”.
Barton is alleged to have sent messages to former England international Ward between 3 and 8 January 3 last year and to Vine between 9 January and 20 March last year. According to the charges, the messages were of an indecent or grossly offensive nature for the purpose of causing distress and anxiety.
The 42-year-old, of Widnes, Cheshire, confirmed he was indicating not guilty pleas to both offences. The case was sent to Liverpool Crown Court, where Barton is due to stand trial in May accused of sending malicious communications to football pundit Eni Aluko.
He tweeted after Aluko and Ward appeared as pundits on ITV for an FA Cup match between Crystal Palace and Everton on 4 January 2024, allegedly comparing them to serial killers Fred and Rose West. In a follow-up tweet, he compared Aluko to Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot, an earlier court hearing was told.
On Thursday, district judge Tanveer Ikram granted Barton unconditional bail to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 13 February. Vine previously sued Barton for libel and harassment over nine Twitter posts, including one falsely calling the BBC Radio 2 presenter a “big bike nonce”.
They settled the claim after the former Manchester City midfielder posted two apologies and paid damages and Vine’s legal costs. Barton pled not guilty to a charge of malicious communications over the incident with Eluko last August.
After appearing at magistrates’ court to deny the charge, Barton elected for his case to be heard at the crown court. The bail conditions include that Barton is prohibited from making any mention of Eni Aluko on social media, directly or indirectly or by inference.
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