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A jury has heard that former football player and manager Joey Barton “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” by posting social media posts about Jeremy Vine, Lucy Ward, and other female television pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward.

The 43-year-old former Manchester City midfielder is accused of 12 counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic message with the intention to afflict others.

The charges stem from posts on X’s social media platform in January and March of last year.

Mr. Barton is accused of using slang to refer to Mr. Vine as a paedophile in messages posted by him.

In a reference to the infamous serial killers, he is also accused of referring to former footballers Ms. Ward and Ms. Aluko as “the Fred and Rosemary West of football commentary.”

According to Mr. Wright, who denies all the charges, has a “sizeable following on X in excess of two million” and that his social media posts are “may well be described as cutting, caustic, controversial, and forthright.”

Some people might even find some of them amusing, he added.

Everyone has the right to express opinions that are all those things.

In a democratic, free society, they are even permitted to express opinions that are offensive, shocking, or personally offensive when taken against and when compared to modern standards for a diverse, equal, open, and multiracial society.

We claim that the defendant, Mr. Barton, straddled the line between a crime and free speech on 12 occasions, adding: “We claim that Mr. Barton crossed the line between a crime and a free speech.

He “engaged in a quite deliberate course of conduct” on 12 occasions between early January and mid-March last year, when he targeted three people who are in different ways in the public eye through a slew of obscene electronic communications with the intention of causing anxiety or distress.

According to Mr. Wright, the defendant had cultivated a publicly expressed dislike for female commentators in what he views as the male domain of football.

In an X post to the “Fred and Rose West of commentary,” he likened Ms Aluko and Ms Ward to the “Fred and Rose West of commentary” and said the former was “only there tick boxes.”

Mr. Vine, a TV and radio presenter, responded to Mr. Barton’s comparisons by asking, “What’s up with Joey7Barton? ” on X. I just took a moment to consider the Rose West incident.

A brain injury can change a person’s character, such as anti-social behavior and inhibitions. I’m so happy that he’s okay.

The defendant’s lawyer argued to the jury that “the defendant did not interpret these interventions as a concern for his well-being but as an insult.”

He sent a message to Jeremy Vine’s X account saying, “You big bike nonce,” in which he responded.

Mr. Barton then reposted an image of Mr. Vine with the message “If you see this fella by a primary school call 999,” according to Mr. Wright.

We claim that a grown man’s defamatory, sincere, and infantile behavior toward these people was beyond what is acceptable in society and is therefore regarded as criminal.

Before he transitioning to management after his retirement, Mr. Barton also played for Queens Park Rangers, Burnley, and Marseilles as well as Manchester City.

After almost three years in charge, he was fired from Bristol Rovers in October 2023.

As more than 700 police officers prepare to conduct an operation for Aston Villa’s Uefa Europa League clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv, there have been reports of disruption warnings issued by the police.

West Midlands Police announced that officers will be operating on Thursday to protect the public and prevent crime and disorder, along with road policing officers, police dogs, and drone units.

Supporters of Palestine are among the planned protests, which include one calling for the end of the game.

Ch Supt Tom Joyce, the head of Birmingham Police, stated: “We know that protests from various groups will take place on the day, and we have plans in place to strike a balance between our duty to protect all Birmingham communities.”

Mr. Joyce claimed that officers had worked closely with various faith and neighborhood organizations to listen to their concerns and opinions and were experienced policing high-profile football games and demonstrations for many weeks.

He stated, “We want to make sure everyone in Birmingham is safe while planning for this game so that people can enjoy the football game.”

West Midlands Palestine Solidarity Campaign chair Naeem Malik claimed that the Israeli team’s hosting had caused a national outcry.

Despite the risks that accompany it, calls to cancel this game have been ignored, he said, so we must call on all activists to unite in protest.

Because the Israeli team was involved in Israel’s infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, he claimed the Israelis were “directly involved in the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

A UN commission of inquiry in September found that Israel had committed a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza with justifications for the finding that four out of five genocidal acts had been committed.

According to Mr. Malik, the pro-Palestine protest will continue throughout the match, with groups chanting peacefully together.

In a Europa League game between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in November 2024, it became apparent that West Midlands Police had labeled the encounter as “high risk,” citing “violent clashes and hate crimes offences” when the ban was in place.

Anti-Palestinian chants, racial slurs, and damage to infrastructure were also highlighted by organizations planning to stage protests on Thursday, according to groups that will also highlight events in Amsterdam.

The Palestine Academy’s Abu Umaymah described the match as unacceptable because of the team’s “complicity in the ongoing genocide” as well as the “racist behavior of the team’s supporters.