Eni Aluko blames Joey Barton for her dramatic drop in TV punditry work after he called her a ‘race card player’ – and says she had to go out in disguise when he set online trolls on her
Eni Aluko has hit out at Joey Barton accusing the former footballer of damaging her broadcasting career with his social media posts.
The pundit, 38, is suing the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder for libel over two posts he made in January last year on X.
Aluko, who played for Chelsea and made 105 appearances for the Lionesses, won the first stage of a High Court libel claim over the bitter online row.
Barton, 42, made comments which had a defamatory meaning when he accused her of being a ‘race card player’, a judge ruled two weeks ago.
The judge also found that while the other post did not have a defamatory meaning, it did have a defamatory ‘innuendo meaning’.
Despite winning the first stage of the case, which Barton could still appeal, Aluko claims her punditry career has been damaged.
Eni Aluko has accused Joey Barton of damaging her broadcasting career with his X posts
Joey Barton made comments which had a defamatory meaning, a judge ruled two weeks ago
In a separate criminal case, Barton is accused of sending offensive communications to Aluko
‘This happens in lots of industries – when women stand up for themselves, their career takes a hit,’ she told BBC Radio 4.
‘I’ve been doing broadcasting for 11 years. I’m not new to it. And in the last 18 months I’ve done the least TV I’ve ever done.
‘That’s just a fact. That’s not a feeling, that’s an opinion. That’s a fact. So I think people can draw their own conclusions from that.
According to the Internet Commentator Database, Aluko made 44 punditry appearances in 2023, but that figure dropped to 27 last year.
She added: ‘There is a double standard where there is still a limited amount of opportunities for women, female broadcasters, both in the men’s and the women’s game.
‘We’re still competing for two or three seats maximum, which includes the presenters.
‘What the Joey Bartons, and some male football fans, want is for women to get off the TV.’
Aluko also said she left her house in disguise because of the hearing and that Barton’s tweets have impacted her in real life and made her feel ‘more self-conscious’.
‘I don’t feel that I can just go out and be free to do what I do. For the first week I was disguising myself and some people think that’s over the top, but that’s genuinely the impact it had on me,’ she added.
Aluko said she left her house in disguise because of the hearing and is ‘more self-conscious’
‘What the Bartons, and some male football fans, want is for women to get off the TV,’ she said
Aluko made 105 appearances for the Lionesses and played Chelsea and Juventus
Barton’s first post on X on January 17 2024, said: ‘Surprise, Surprise,’ followed by a screenshot from a Guardian article with the headline, ‘FA faces calls for fresh investigation after Eni Aluko’s claims of racism and bullying.’
On the same day he wrote: ‘Cry me a f***ing river… I was waiting for the victim card to be played.
‘Eni, sorry luv, you’re dreadful as a pundit.’
Meanwhile, two days later Barton posted: ‘More has come to light about poor, little Eni Aluko.
‘Dad was a Nigerian Senator. Dodgy money. Ran to England. Massive house in Wentworth. 3 Rolls Royce’s. St Mary’s in Ascot private education. Lawyer, Race card player.’
The judge said: ‘That was a statement of opinion insofar as it accused the claimant of hypocrisy and a statement of fact insofar as it meant that the claimant had on at least one occasion cynically sought to exploit her race.
‘It was defamatory in both respects.
‘Race card player’ is clearly a derogatory term.’
Barton managed Fleetwood Town and Bristol rovers after hanging up his boots in 2017
The former Queen’s Park Rangers player has become outspoken on social media after retiring
`In a statement, Aluko welcomed the decision, describing Barton’s posts as ‘an unwarranted attack on my personal and professional identity, my integrity and my family life’.
She continued: ‘Joey Barton has rightly never indicated that he has any basis on which to defend his defamatory statements about me.
‘Should he do so, I look forward to proving my case against him in court.’
In a separate criminal case, Barton is accused of sending offensive communications to Aluko with intent to cause distress or anxiety under the Malicious Communications Act.
The charges arise out of a series of posts in January last year, in which he allegedly compared Aluko and fellow pundit Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West.
In a follow-up tweet, he allegedly compared Aluko to Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot.
Aluko scored 33 goals for England in 105 appearances before retiring in 2020 and moving into broadcasting.
