Eni Aluko says she has fled the country in fear for her safety following the abuse she received from Joey Barton.
Former England striker Aluko has been one of the main targets of Barton's misogynistic crusade against female football pundits and commentators.
The former Bristol Rovers manager has posted several offensive tweets over the past few months, including one in which he branded Aluko and fellow ITV broadcaster Lucy Ward as "the Fred and Rose West of football commentary."
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ITV publicly slammed Barton for his "contemptible and shameful" remarks.
Barton has received widespread condemnation on social media and in the media, but his words have encouraged online trolls to bombard Aluko with sexist abuse.
Now, Aluko has taken the decision to temporarily flee the UK out of concern for her safety. In an emotional video posted on her Instagram Story on Tuesday, the 36-year-old hinted that she will take legal action against Barton, and provided a warning about the effect online abuse can have.
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"Now, I’m open and honest and I’m human and I’m more than happy to admit: I’ve been scared this week," she said.
"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.
"I’ve seen a lot of stuff mentioned this week around freedom of speech and people being entitled to their opinions and the reality is that our freedom of speech isn’t really free.
"Our speech isn’t really free and neither is our opinion, because depending on what you say, there are laws that govern that opinion and that freedom of speech. That’s not something that happened this week – that’s always been the case.
"If you come out and are racist, or sexist or misogynistic and threaten people online, there are laws for that and that govern that behaviour. It’s not free. It’s not freedom of consequences, either. There are consequences for that. And over the past week I’ve taken advice from lawyers and a course of action has now been decided upon."
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According to The Telegraph, co-commentator Lucy Ward is taking legal action against Barton.
Topics: Joey Barton, Womens Football, Premier League
Alex Brotherton