Rebekah Vardy denies Euro 2016 photo was staged: WAG is accused of deliberately sitting behind Coleen Rooney during Wales clash to ‘boost her image’
- Rebekah accused of sitting behind Coleen to help boost her column for The Sun
- Vardy denied the claim, saying she was merely there to support husband Jamie
- Rebekah said her column was an opportunity for her to ‘earn her own money’
Rebekah Vardy today denied staging a photo at the Euro 2016 by deliberately sitting behind Coleen Rooney in a bid to ‘boost her image’.
Rebekah was accused at the High Court in London of trying to gain publicity during the football tournament, which took place in France.
Coleen publicly ‘outed’ her fellow WAG of sharing three fake stories she had posted on her personal Instagram with The Sun as part of what she described as a social media ‘sting’ operation. Rebekah vehemently denied the allegation – leading her to launch the £3million legal action which is now in its second day.
Rebekah told the court today that she was at the Euros to support her husband, Jamie Vardy, who was on the England squad, and agreed she had a column in the The Sun at the time.
This was ‘good coverage’, Mrs Rooney’s lawyer David Sherborne said, saying Rebekah’s agency had ‘done well’ in securing the column for her.
‘This was an opportunity for me to be able to earn my own money,’ she told the court, adding that she never wanted to rely on her husband.
Happier times: Rebekah and Coleen celebrating England’s win against Wales at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in France in 2016. The moment was discussed in court today, during which Mrs Rooney’s lawyer accused Vardy of deliberately sitting behind Coleen to ‘boost her image’ and help her newspaper column, a claim Vardy denied.
Artist impression of Rebekah Vardy giving evidence (left) to Barrister Mr Sherborne (far right) with Wayne and Coleen Rooney looking on (centre) at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. May 11, 2022
Mr Sherborne referred to a column dated June 19 2016, headlined ‘Dream Come True: Jamie Vardy’s wife Rebekah says husband was ‘buzzing’ after his Euro 2016 goal against Wales’.
Rebekah was sitting behind Rooney at the tournament and pictures were taken of her celebrating her husband’s goal, showing Rooney in front of her, the court hears.
‘I was sitting just behind Coleen Rooney watching the game and we had a chat before it started,’ she wrote in her column.
Mr Sherborne says this was ‘gratuitous’.
Writing this ‘boosts your public profile’, Mr Sherborne argued, to which Vardy said this was ‘not the case at all’.
Mr Sherborne said Vardy deliberately chose her seat to sit behind Rooney, even though it wasn’t her seat – an issue which came up in court yesterday before Vardy began her evidence.
Vardy denies this.
Mr Sherborne mentioned the statement of FA liaison officer Harpreet Robinson, who claims that she was abused by Rebekah and her group, and told to ‘F*** off,’ when Ms Robinson tried to move them.
Rebekah claimed that Ms Robinson ‘took an immediate dislike to her’ and said she did not believe her statement.
‘I find it quite interesting,’ she said ‘I think it’s nonsense, absolute nonsense.’
She suggested that Ms Robinson had ‘got her wires crossed’ or ‘has been told to say that.’
Mr Sherborne said: ‘Who do you say has told her to say that?’ to which she replied: ‘I don’t know’.
It was part of a dramatic second day of the libel trial, which saw Rebekah burst into tears in the witness box when Coleen’s lawyer brought up how Twitter trolls had once threatened to rape her two-year-old daughter – as she denied lying under oath by testifying that she rarely leaked stories to the media.
This afternoon, barrister David Sherbourne referred to an article in The Sun from 2017 where Rebekah spoke of the ‘vile’ abuse she had received online – including the sick rape threats against her child.
‘Horrible stuff’, said Mr Sherborne, before judge Mrs Justice Steyn saw that Rebekah was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue and suggested the court took a break. Rebekah shook her head and carried on.
Asked again a few moments later if she would like a break, Rebekah replied: ‘I don’t think it’s going to make any difference, to be honest.’
Rebekah Vardy broke down in tears today when Coleen Rooney ‘s lawyer brought up how Twitter trolls had once threatened to rape her two-year-old daughter
Rebekah leaves the High Court this afternoon after her brutal cross-examination ended early due to a fire alarm
Coleen leaves the Royal Courts of Justice with her barrister, David Sherborne, following behind her in court dress. The WAG wore a £32.99 white and black patterned Zara dress to court
Rebekah denied the suggestion she was building a relationship with The Sun by ‘consistently’ providing it with exclusives.
‘I’m working with The Sun because they are going to print the story. They are going to give me the opportunity to give my story,’ she said.
Earlier today, Mr Sherborne read out a series of texts in which Rebekah told her agent Caroline Watt to ‘leak’ stories about footballer Riyad Mahrez, the model Danielle Lloyd, and one unnamed high-profile celebrity.
In response, she told the court these exchanges were ‘never serious’ and Ms Watt would have ‘understood’ this – prompting Mr Sherbourne to dramatically accuse her of lying under oath.
Rebekah did admit to sharing a tip about Danny Drinkwater – who, like Mahrez, was her husband Jamie’s colleague at Leicester.
The WAG said she informed Ms Watt he was about to leave police custody because she was ‘deeply affected’ by drink-driving after her ex-husband ‘killed two people’.
But when asked about a text where she told Ms Watt she ‘wanted money’ for the story about Drinkwater, Rebekah insisted she was joking.
Coleen was seen furiously taking notes throughout her rival’s cross-examination, while Wayne looked straight ahead, unable to look at her as she gave evidence.
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