Former footballer Joey Barton has been convicted of sending grossly offensive social media posts.

The ex-QPR and Newcastle midfielder had been charged after a number of posts on X, formerly Twitter, that targeted broadcaster Jeremy Vine, and TV pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton, 43, had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with six posts he made on the platform.

He was cleared of six other counts that he sent a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety between January and March 2024.

Following a televised FA Cup tie in January 2024 between Crystal Palace and Everton, Barton described Ward and Aluko as the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary”, before superimposing the faces of the two women onto a photograph of the serial killers.

Barton also wrote that Aluko was in the “Joseph Stalin/Pol Pot category” as she had “murdered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of football fans’ ears” and in a separate post said: “Only there to tick boxes. DEI is a load of s***. Affirmative action. All off the back of the BLM/George Floyd nonsense”.

Barton also have suggested Vine had a sexual interest in children after the TV and radio presenter sent a message querying whether Barton had a “brain injury”, repeatedly referring to the broadcaster as “bike n****” and asking him if he would show up on the flight logs to Epstein Island.

Barton, who also managed Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers, claimed to be the victim of a “political prosecution”.