London: Coleen Rooney, the wife of former England football captain Wayne, on Friday defeated Rebekah Vardy, the spouse of one of his ex-teammates Jamie, in their high-profile libel battle.
Vardy had sued Rooney over an accusation she had leaked details of her private life to the press. It came after Rooney had staged an elaborate sting operation to find out who was passing on stories about her private life to the Sun tabloid.
Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy: The so-called Wagatha Christie trial has captivated the English press.Credit:AP
The judge, Justice Karen Steyn, said in her ruling that Rooney had successfully proved her allegation was substantially true.
She said the court had concluded that Vardy knew and condoned details being leaked to the Sun by her agent Caroline Watt
The legal feud has been dubbed the “Wagatha Christie” case, a reference to the “WAG” moniker given to the glamorous group of footballers’ wives and girlfriends, and to the renowned author of detective novels, in honour of Rooney’s amateur sleuthing.
Their courtroom bust-up has attracted similar level of fascination and media attention to any of their husbands’ on-field exploits.
Wayne Rooney holds the record for the most international goals for his country, while Jamie Vardy – one of the top scorers in the English Premier League in recent years – is also a former England international.
Both women are well-known figures in their own right – Coleen Rooney has 1.2 million followers on Twitter and almost 925,000 on Instagram. The libel case has lifted the lid on the glittering and less flattering aspects of the lives of rich and famous footballers and their families.
The intrigue began almost three years ago when Rooney became suspicious about stories appearing in the Sun tabloid involving information she had put on her personal Instagram account. She turned detective to try to find out who the culprit was.
