Joey Barton's gone on a rant about diversity and Blackburn Rovers has had enough

Blackburn Rovers have hit back at Joey Barton’s ‘public meltdown’ following his rant about the Lancashire town’s change in ‘diversity, equality and inclusion’.

The former Premier League footballer shared a historical clip of Blackburn from 1905 on X which showed predominantly white children walking to school.

Alongside the clip Barton wrote: ‘120 years ago in Blackburn, England. We talk about Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. We never talk about Equity.

‘Who has done the work. Who has built the places. Who fought in the wars. Who paid the taxes. Who built and maintained these communities. We shouldn’t forgot our past. As we look to improve our future.’

But Blackburn Rovers fired back at Barton as the club’s official account on X replied to his post with: ‘Hi Joey, if you could have your public meltdown without bringing our town into it, that’d be great. Thanks.’

A Blackburn Rovers fan account then urged the club to ‘read the room’ before replying to Barton, to which the former midfielder added: ‘Obviously some Rainbow flag waving, pro-noun demanding, university educated neo-Marxist has access to @Rovers twitter account. Does this twerp speak for the people of the area?’

Barton has been at the centre of several high-profile attacks on social media in recent months, mainly targeting women in football.

Last month, the 41-year-old described England goalkeeper Mary Earps as ‘a big sack of spuds’ and hit out at the decision to award her BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Barton has also targeted former England striker Eni Aluko, comparing her and fellow ITV pundit Lucy Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West.

Aluko revealed last week that the abuse she has suffered as a result of Barton’s social media posts have left her fearing for her safety.

‘Now, I’m open and honest and I’m human and I’m more than happy to admit that I’ve been scared this week,’ Aluko said.

‘I’ve genuinely been scared this week. I didn’t leave my house until Friday and I’m now abroad.

‘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, in sports broadcasting.

‘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.’

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