Ex-footballer Barton handed suspended sentence for offensive posts

Former Premier League footballer Joey Barton was spared jail on Monday after being given a suspended sentence for grossly offensive social media posts concerning British broadcaster Jeremy Vine and television pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.Last month a jury found Barton had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with six posts on X — formerly Twitter.At Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, Judge Andrew Menary sentenced Barton to six months in custody, suspended for 18