Joey Barton has hit back at Eni Aluko after she revealed she has fled the country following controversial comments made by the former footballer on social media.
The former Bristol Rovers manager has shared a string of highly offensive social media posts in recent weeks and described Aluko and fellow ITV broadcaster Lucy Ward as "the Fred and Rose West of football commentary" at the start of the month.
Aluko has since taken to social media to outline the toll Barton's comments have had on her. In a video shared on Instagram on Tuesday evening, she 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 [and] in sports broadcasting.
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"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."
Aluko went on to suggest that she has started legal proceedings against Barton - but that hasn't prevented the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder from launching another attack on the ITV presenter in the wake of her video on social media.
Aluko shared a video on her social media admitting she feared for her safety on Tuesday (@enialuko/Instagram)He posted in retaliation on Wednesday morning, saying: "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 run 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's latest post comes just a week after Sports Minister Stuart Andrew condemned his "dangerous" comments before outlining plans to take up Barton's posts with the relevant social media platforms.
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