Free speech supporters are alarmed after former Premier League player Joey Barton has been slapped with charges of alleged “malicious communications” directed towards sports commentator and past England Women’s team star Eni Aluko.
Responding to the accusations, Barton labeled the judiciary as a “banana republic.” A court date has been set for July 30 following a probe by Cheshire Police in England.
Earlier this year, Barton likened Aluko and fellow commentator Lucy Ward to Fred and Rose West.
Fred and Rose West were a British married couple who committed a series of murders, sexual assaults, and acts of torture against young women and girls, including some of their own children, between the 1960s and 1980s in Gloucestershire, England.
After a police investigation into Barton’s contentious actions, charges were brought by the Crown Prosecution Service. The 41-year-old ex-footballer is set to face these charges at Warrington Magistrates’ Court.
Notably, Barton also compared Aluko to the notorious Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
When the charges were made public, Barton expressed his shock on X, questioning the priorities of the police and criticizing the British legal framework for stifling voices.