Eni Aluko is suing Joey Barton following claims he made about her family and after the ex-Bristol Rovers boss likened her to 'Rose West' on X
Joey Barton is facing yet another legal battle after football pundit Eni Aluko took a defamation and harassment lawsuit to the High Court.
Ex-Chelsea and England star Aluko threatened legal action against the disgraced ex-Bristol Rovers manager earlier this year over a social media post about her late Nigerian senator father.
She is also suing him over a social media tirade in which he dubbed her and co-commentator Lucy Ward 'the Fred and Rose West of football commentary' after their coverage of an FA Cup game.
His sexist attack on the female pundits was widely condemned at the time including by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who labelled it 'completely ridiculous'.
Barton was recently ordered to pay a total of £110,000 to settle a libel claim with broadcaster Jeremy Vine after he made a number of social media posts suggesting the Radio 2 presenter had a sexual interest in children.
Joey Barton (pictured) is being sued by football pundit Eni Aluko who has lodged a defamation and harassment lawsuit in the High Court
Aluko (left) and Ward (right) were both victims to Barton's social media attacks after he compared the pundits to serial killers Fred and Rose West
In January, Aluko confirmed she was taking legal action against the ex-Premier League footballer over a 'defamatory' social media post about her family.
On January 19, Barton had written on X, formerly known as Twitter: '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.'
In a statement, the TV pundit labelled Barton's comments 'untrue' and 'inaccurate' before confirming she would take legal action.
She wrote: 'Joey Barton recently published a Post on X which made untrue, inaccurate and defamatory allegations about me and my family.
'It is particularly harmful that Mr Barton involved my family in that post, suggesting my late father, a distinguished Nigerian senator, was in receipt of "dodgy money" and that I had benefitted from his corruption which paid for my lavish lifestyle including Rolls Royce cards and a private education. Mr Barton also publicly stated he knew where my family lived.
'These, and the other allegations he made in the post, are all entirely untrue and have caused me extreme harm and distress.
'These were made just days after I stated publicly that I was genuinely scared, following Mr Barton's repeated online posts targeting me using extreme violent comparisons in previous weeks.
'I have instructed Judith Thompson at Samuel's Solicitors, as well as Sara Mansoori KC and Ifeanyi Odogwu at Matrix Chambers to send a letter before action to Mr Barton setting out the true position and requesting that the post on X be taken down.
Aluko claimed she had been 'genuinely scared' to leave her house after Barton's tirades
Ms Aluko (right) has been capped 102 times for England
'Instead of taking down his post, Mr Barton published a post today mischaracterising my legal complaint with a photograph of my letter of claim, causing further abuse of me, and my legal advisers.
'While he has now removed that post, it has been necessary to make this statement to set out the correct position'.
Barton faced a furious backlash for his attack on Aluko and Ward after the FA Cup third round clash between Crystal Palace and Everton in January.
Broadcaster ITV criticised his 'vindictive remarks' and campaign group Women in Football praised the channel for coming out in support of Aluko and Ward.
They said: ‘We call on all employers in the football industry to show the same support for their female employees and take all possible measures to ensure their well-being in the current epidemic of misogynistic abuse.
‘As the leading agency driving gender equality in football we stand with all those who suffer such abuse.’
Barton settled a libel claim with Jeremy Vine earlier this month.
Joey Barton, pictured arriving at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court in October 2022, has agreed to pay a total of £110,000 to settle a libel claim with BBC presenter Jeremy Vine
BBC Radio 2 host Vine is seen here attending the Royal Courts of Justice in London after bringing a libel claim against former England and Manchester City footballer Joey Barton
Barton (right) won his one England cap against Spain in February 2007, coming on as a substitute for Frank Lampard (left) at Manchester United's Old Trafford
The ex-footballer was sued after suggesting Vine had a sexual interest in children, calling him a 'bike nonce' and a 'paedo defender' in social media posts.
In May, the High Court ruled that these comments were defamatory and the sportsman apologised before paying £75,000 in damages and legal costs.
Barton then paid a further £35,000 for posts published after Mr Vine took legal action.
Judith Thompson of Samuels Solicitors said: 'Mr Barton responded to being served with Mr Vine's claim by making additional damaging and untrue publications about Mr Vine and his legal complaints.'
