Former Premier League footballer Joey Barton has been charged in relation to allegations over social media posts.
Ex-Manchester City midfielder Barton, 41, is charged with two counts of sending malicious communications. These charges relate to BBC presenter Jeremy Vine and former Lionesses striker Lucy Ward.
Originally from Huyton in Merseyside, Barton now lives in Widnes in Cheshire. Police have said he will appear in a magistrates court at a later date, which is yet to be confirmed.
During his playing career, Barton spent time at City, Rangers, QPR, Burnley, Newcastle and Marseille before retiring in 2017.
He then moved into management and was most recently in charge of Bristol Rovers. Barton was sacked by the Gas last year following a string of bad results.
Police Release Statement As Joey Barton Charged
After news of Joey Barton’s latest charges broke, Cheshire Police released a statement outlining the details.
The force said: “Following an investigation by Cheshire Police, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised for Joseph Barton to be charged with two counts of malicious communications.
“The charges relate to reports of alleged malicious communications online between Wednesday 3 January and Wednesday 20 March, involving two victims.”
This isn’t the first time Barton has been charged over social media posts, though. He was previously charged with one count of the same offence in relation to posts directed at another former England women’s player, Eni Aluko.
Barton is due to stand trial for that charge at Liverpool Crown Court next year. He was released on bail ahead of the trial on the condition that he is “prohibited from making any mention of Eni Aluko on social media, directly or indirectly or by inference”.
The posts about Eni Aluko allegedly likened her and Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West. A further post was then said to have compared the two pundits to famous dicators Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot.
