Joey Barton responded to claims made by former England international Eni Aluko that she had left the UK because of the comments made by Barton in recent weeks.
Barton has made statements against female football analysts in the game and pointed out Aluko in particular.
Barton took to X (formerly Twitter) and replied to Aluko’s video that she has posted on the social media:
“Cry me a f****** 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. You should have ran off to a desert island after your ‘Arteta phoning Pep to put a bid’ in nonsense. Everyone is laughing at you. Not just me.”
Barton referenced remarks made by Aluko last summer when she said in an effort to persuade the owners of Arsenal to present a counter offer, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had called Pep Guardiola of Manchester City to request that the manager submit a proposal for Declan Rice to West Ham.
In an emotional message this week, Aluko said:
“Now, I’m open and honest and I’m human and I’m more than happy to admit I’ve been scared this week.
“I’ve genuinely been scared this week. I didn’t leave my house until Friday and I’m now abroad. Because 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.”
Barton slammed Aluko and former Leeds striker Lucy Ward for their punditry duties on ITV on Everton’s 0-0 FA Cup third-round match with Crystal Palace at the beginning of January.
Barton wrote: “How is [Aluko] 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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