On his X account, Barton, 41, said he had been charged over tweets relating to the football pundit Eni Aluko. The tweets are believed to have been posted during Aluko’s commentary on an FA Cup match broadcast by the BBC in January.
In a statement on its website, Cheshire police said: “A man from Widnes has been summoned to court to face charges of malicious communications....
On Sunday, Barton tweeted to his 2.8 million followers: “I’m up next month … for ‘malicious communications’ charge at Warrington Mag (sic) for Eni Aluko tweets.
“Crazy times we’re living in. Haven’t the police got enough on their hands? British system is becoming a Banana Republic. Lawfare used against its own citizens for having a dissenting voice. Not quite North Korea yet but won’t be long. Viva La Revolution.”