Eni Aluko has fled the country in light of online comments made by former footballer Joey Barton.
In a 15-minute video shared to Instagram on Tuesday (16 January), the former England and Chelsea striker and football commentator said that she had felt “genuinely scared this week” and that she was now abroad due to safety fears.
She said she felt it was “really important to say that online abuse has a direct impact on your safety and how you feel and how safe you feel in real life”.
The 36-year-old added that she had sought legal advice and that “a course of action has now been decided upon”.
“If you come out and are racist, or sexist or misogynistic and threaten people online, there are laws for that, that govern that behaviour, so it’s not free [speech],” she said.
“There are consequences for that.”
What did Joey Barton say?
The former Man City and Newcastle midfielder has been criticised in recent months for a series of sexist comments against women, who he claims “aren’t qualified” to talk about men’s football.
On 5 January, he took aim at Ms Aluko and fellow pundit Lucy Ward for their coverage of the FA Cup third-round clash between Crystal Palace and Everton for ITV.
Posting on X – formerly Twitter – to his 2.8 million followers, he reposted a clip of the pair, 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.”
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.https://t.co/oAyMjHhR8A
Joey Barton
And in response to a clip of Ms Aluko taking shots at a goalkeeper in training, he added: “Technically, that’s awful. She can’t move without her legs rubbing together. You have to laugh. She’s 18 yds out and can’t reach the goal without a bounce!
“F**king pathetic. Get them off the men’s football. Off the tele [sic]. Only there to tick boxes. DEI [Diversity, Equality and Inclusion] is a load of shit. Affirmative action.
“All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense. Cancel me, I’d [sic] don’t care anymore.”
In a statement released at the time, ITV wrote: “For Joey Barton, an ex-professional player with a significant social media presence, to target two of our pundits, Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, with such vindictive remarks based on gender and to invoke the names of serial killers in doing so is clearly contemptible and shameful on his part.
“Football is for everyone.”
How has Eni Aluko responded?
In a video shared to Instagram stories on Tuesday 16 January, Ms Aluko said the abuse she suffered as a result of Mr Barton’s social media posts left her fearing for her safety and frightened to leave her home.
“I’ve genuinely been scared this week. I didn’t leave my house until Friday and I’m now abroad,” she began.
“It’s really important to say that online abuse has a direct impact on your safety and how you feel and how safe you feel in real life.
“I’ve felt under threat this week. I’ve felt like something is going to happen to me. And I don’t say that for anyone to feel sorry for me – I say that for people to understand the reality and the impact that hate speech has, the impact that racism has, the impact that sexism has, the impact that misogyny has on all of us females in the game, in sports broadcasting.
“That’s the real impact – and it’s not an isolated incident, this is now showing up as a culture in the game, from certain fan bases and certain people. They’re creating a culture where people don’t want to go to work, people don’t want to leave their house, people feel under threat. Obviously there’s a big impact on mental health as well.”
While she did not mention Mr Barton by name, she accused him of being sexist, racist and misogynistic and of having a “violent history”.
She said: “My fear, actually, is that the next time this happens, if we don’t really put a stop to this, is that that girl or that woman kills herself. I’m not being hyperbolic about that when I say that it’s happened. Caroline Flack, God rest her soul, killed herself, largely because of the online abuse that she was getting.
“At what point are we going to understand that this needs to stop? Sexism, racism, misogyny is not an opinion. It’s not freedom of speech. It’s against the law. It’s as simple as that.”
In response, Mr Barton shared a clip of the video to X, writing: “Cry me a f**king river. I was waiting for the victim card to be played.
“Eni, sorry luv, you’re dreadful as a pundit. Tone deaf, can’t count and most importantly you know next to nothing about men’s football.
“Everyone is laughing at you. Not just me.”
What else has Joey Barton said on social media?
Mr Barton’s tirade began in December, shortly after being sacked by Bristol Rovers as manager following a poor start to the 2023-24 season.
Writing on X, he said: “Women shouldn’t be talking with any kind of authority in the men’s game. Come on. Let’s be serious.
“Any man who listens to women [sic] commentary or co-comms needs their heads testing. I cannot take a thing they say serious [sic] in the men’s arena.”
He doubled-down on his post, writing later that women talking about football was the same as him “talking about knitting or netball. Way out of my comfort zone”.
In response to Mary Earps’ BBC Sports Personality of the Year win, he wrote: “I’d score 100 out of 100 penalties against Mary Earps. Any day of the week. Twice on a f**king Sunday.”
And in January, he went on to claim that women in football had used “their sexuality to get an advantage” and “violated marriages”.
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