Former Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has been slammed by ITV for comparing pundits Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West. The 41-year-old has recently voiced his opinions on social media against women commentating on men's football.
Barton referred to Aluko and Ward as "the Fred and Rose West of football commentary". British broadcaster ITV has now condemned the former Manchester City midfielder in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
As reported by the Daily Star, the post said: "For Joey Barton, an ex-professional player with a significant social media presence, to target two of our pundits, Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, with such vindictive remarks based on gender, and to invoke the names of serial killers in doing so, is clearly contemptible and shameful on his part. Football is for everyone."
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Barton was swift in his response and said: "Shut up you f***ing idiots. Keep them off the tele. They’re ruining the game for everyone (sic) of us.
"It’s what happens when you force under qualified, under prepared, tokenistic people onto us. I will be calling them all serial killers from now on. Every clip you f***ers put out. Told you, I don’t care anymore. Had enough of your ‘Woke’ DEI bulls***."
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville waded into the row by agreeing with ITV's condemnation, adding: "Well done ITV. It’s gone too far this and mentioning serial killers is quite simply incredible. My daughters have watched Salford City with me for 10 years and like to comment on football, my mum was kicked out of the football team (boys in the 1960s) and stopped playing due to mysogyny, my sister struggled for funding for her sport for years and my brother was mocked when he took over the England women’s team.
"I come from a family that has fought these issues for years and I’ve witnessed it first hand. All this does is just discourage and it’s not the way forward. It’s bloody hard work for Women to succeed in sport and media as it is without this stuff."
But Barton hit back at his former rival as well, responding: "Gary, please keep your head down or you will get emptied as well. I know they pay your wages and I don’t want to have to put you away. Worry about one of the other 3758 business things you’ve got going on. I’ll decide when it’s gone too far. Not you."
