Ex-pro turned pundit and football executive Eni Aluko has been “scared this week” and has felt her personal safety was “under threat” following abuse from former Manchester City player, Joey Barton, and others online, so much so that she has now left the country for a spell.
The retired Lioness and WSL hall of famer, who currently works as a sports broadcaster for the likes of ITV, TNT Sport and more, revealed in a lengthy social media post that she didn’t leave the house for the best part of a week following the misogynistic and hateful comments made by Barton.
Barton retired in 2017 and has since gone on to manage Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers, but also has his own podcast as well as being very vocal on social media, through which he caused a huge uproar by taking aim at both Aluko and fellow pundit Lucy Ward over their match analysis earlier this month.
The 41-year-old said, “How is she even talking about men’s football. She can’t even kick a ball properly”, in a post on X, before going on to equate the two commentators to serial killers by dubbing them “the Fred and Rose West of football commentary.” Aluko has finally addressed the situation.
The former Birmingham, Chelsea, Juventus and England star stated that “online abuse has a direct impact on your safety and how safe you feel in real life”, reiterating that she genuinely felt like something might happen to her following the torrent of sexist abuse that his comments ultimately helped spark.
Aluko and Ward are also reportedly considering taking legal action against Barton following his misogynistic rant and for what many have labelled “dangerous comments” — including the Minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Stuart Andrew.
The MP said that Barton’s comments could “open the floodgates for abuse [which they already have] and that’s not acceptable”, adding that he didn’t to give people like Barton “the oxygen to fuel” further offensive behaviour. It is thought that the government could also look into any legal proceedings.
ITV Sport issued an official response following the Merseysider’s comments on Friday, 12 January, sharing a heartfelt statement of solidarity and condemning Barton for using his industry position and social media presence to dish out “such vindictive remarks based on gender”.
The ITV dubbed his comments “contemptible and shameful”, with countless people around the country echoing the sentiment but he still has a select following and there are plenty online who share his problematic views latching on to the rhetoric.
Barton — who was sacked from his job at Bristol in October 2023 after just 13 games — is no stranger to sharing questionable and often inappropriate opinions online and has been targeting women in football in particular of late, and has only doubled down in his position since the controversy.
As Eni Aluko goes on to emphasise, “racism, sexism and misogyny” continue to create a culture where “people don’t want to go to work or leave their house”, stressing that her fear is that similar abuse could be dished out in the future and lead to a tragedy such as someone taking their own life.
For anyone suffering from online abuse, you can find helpful resources below. If you need to talk to someone, please get in touch with the Samaritans on 116 123 and if you believe you or someone you know is at immediate risk, daily 999 immediately.
Bright Sky App – hestia.org
Safer Online – saferonline.org
Stop Online Abuse – stoponlineabuse.org.uk
Disrespect Nobody – disrespectnobody.co.uk
Get Safe Online – getsafeonline.org
UK Safer Internet Centre – www.saferinternet.org.uk
Featured Images — ITV/Common Sense Pod (via TikTok)/Eni Aluk (via IG)
News
Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother have died in car crash
Danny Jones
Liverpool FC footballer Diogo Jota has tragically died in a car crash along with his brother, Andre Felipe, according to multiple outlets.
The Liverpool forward, who just won the Premier League back in April, has been confirmed dead by Spanish police following a traffic collision in the northwest of the country.
As per national authorities, the fatal crash occurred on Thursday, 3 Jul, after a tyre burst and the car slid off the road.
Guardia Civil has now confirmed the following: “A road accident occurred at 12:30am this morning at kilometre 65 of the A-52 motorway, in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora. A vehicle left the road, and everything indicates a tyre burst while overtaking.”
The statement goes on to detail: “As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both people were killed.”Pending the completion of forensic tests, one of the deceased has been identified as Diogo Jota, a Liverpool FC player, and his brother, Andre Felipe [Silva].”
Respects are also being paid to Jota’s younger brother, a 25-year-old who played for Penafiel in the Portuguese second division.
The Portuguese Football Federation (PFF) have also now blacked out their social media following this morning’s tragic news, with other clubs and sporting organisations offering their condolences.
Sharing a lengthy tribute online, the national team wrote: “The PFF and all of Portuguese football are completely devastated by the deaths of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, this morning, in Spain.
Much more than an outstanding player, with nearly 50 caps for the National A Team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all colleagues and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference in his own community.
The Portuguese Football Federation expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Diogo and André Silva, as well as to Liverpool FC and FC Penafiel, the clubs where the players respectively played.
“The Portuguese Football Federation has already requested UEFA to hold a minute of silence, this Thursday, before our National Team’s match against Spain in the Women’s European Championship. We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and André Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese Football, and we will do everything to honour their legacy daily.”
Featured Images — Portuguese Football Federation/Sporting CP (via X)
News
Same-sex penguin couple to raise rare baby chick together at Chester Zoo
Emily Sergeant
10 rare baby penguin chicks have hatched at Chester Zoo, and one of them has some rather unique parents.
The rare new arrivals are highly-threatened Humboldt penguins, which is one of the most at-risk out of the world’s 17 species of penguin, and began hatching from their eggs throughout April, but since then, they have spent their first few weeks of life tucked away in their nest burrows.
Humboldt penguins – which are ound on the rocky coastal shores of Peru and Chile – are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as they face a number of threats in the wild, including climate change, overfishing, and rising ocean temperatures.
Commonly with penguins, both mum and dad share feeding and parenting duties.
Keepers at Chester Zoo support the parents by providing plenty of extra fish, which the adult penguins swallow, blend into a protein-rich soup, and then regurgitate to feed the chicks.
But in what is a heartwarming development, one of the chicks is being raised by a same-sex penguin couple, Scampi and Flounder, as the devoted duo were seen to step in to help raise one of two eggs laid by another penguin pair, Wotsit and Peach.
The zoo’s bird experts carefully shared the eggs between the two nests to help give both chicks the best possible start and help improve chances of successful fledging, and now keepers say the chicks are just ‘days away’ from taking the plunge into their very first swimming lessons at the zoo’s Penguin Island habitat.
10 rare Humboldt penguins have hatched at Chester Zoo / Credit: Chester Zoo
As part of a long-standing zoo tradition, conservationists pick a different naming theme for the chicks each year, and this year’s cohort have been named after stars and celestial wonders – with some of the chicks being Ursa, Alcyone, Orion, Dorado, and Cassiopeia.
“10 chicks hatching in one season marks a bumper year for the penguins here,” commented Zoe Sweetman, who is the Team Manager of Penguins at Chester Zoo.
“It’s fantastic news for the species and a brilliant success for the international conservation breeding programme. The fluffy new arrivals are all being looked after brilliantly by their parents, having nearly quadrupled in size since they first emerged.
“They’re now days away from a really exciting milestone – their very first swimming lessons, which is always a thrill to witness as they dive into the pool for the very first time.”
Danny Jones -
17th January 2024 
