Eni Aluko's online troll - who said he hoped she was 'hiding in the Gaza Strip' when abuse saw her flee the UK - says he regrets post but maintains it was 'tongue-in-cheek'

A football fan who said he hoped TV pundit Eni Aluko 'was hiding in the Gaza Strip' after she fled abroad following online hate has said he 'regrets' the outburst - and admits his own son has labelled him a 'troll'. Ex England footballer turned pundit Eni Aluko told her followers she was 'genuinely scared' for her safety after online trolls, led by ex footballer Joey Barton, targeted her on social media She told fans at the time: 'I've genuinely been scared this week. that he wouldn't post under his real name, and his son had branded him a troll BBC journalist Marianna Spring met one of Aluko's trolls, a married Chelsea fan in his early 60s, to ask why he'd written abusive tweets targeting Aluko - he told her he regretted some of his comments but thought female commentators 'spoil the event' if they're employed to discuss the men's game The troll, who's married with children, describes 'football as my life' saying he'd 'miss weddings' when he was younger to go and watch Chelsea play - but describes himself as 'easy going'. Barton had previously and inaccurately claimed Aluko's family had come into 'dodgy money' One of the tweets James posted read: 'If Alex Scott and Eni Aluko were white, there's no way they'd be on TV'. Aluko took to social media after ex footballer Joey Barton made comments about her family, in the statement she said Barton's allegations about her family were 'untrue' and 'defamatory' Last week, Aluko spoke out about the abuse she has suffered online and believes X - formerly known as Twitter - should do more to clamp down on 'hatred'.