LONDON: A high-profile libel court battle between two soccer spouses, in which one publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking made-up stories to the tabloid press, opened Tuesday in London.
Coleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking fake stories she had posted on her Instagram account to The Sun newspaper in October 2019. Vardy denies the claims and brought the libel suit.
Both women are married to famous footballers — Rooney to former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney, Vardy to Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy.
Rooney posted the fake tales on purpose over several months, and said she blocked everyone apart from an account belonging to Vardy from seeing her Instagram stories. The stories then appeared in The Sun, and Rooney announced to her followers that Vardy was responsible.
The showdown has fascinated many in Britain and has been dubbed the “Wagatha Christie” trial — a play on the slang term “WAG” for the wives and girlfriends of soccer stars — for Rooney’s detective work.
On Tuesday, Vardy’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson denied that she leaked information from Rooney’s private Instagram. Vardy had made “strenuous but unsuccessful attempts” to settle the case but Rooney’s accusatory post was not taken down, he said.
“Mrs Rooney did not have the ‘irrefutable’ evidence that she claimed to have had: her so-called ‘careful investigation’ was nothing of the sort,” Tomlinson said in written submissions to the High Court.
“Mrs Vardy had no choice but to bring this libel action to establish her innocence and vindicate her reputation,” he added.
Tomlinson said the showdown and subsequent libel case had become the subject of intense press coverage and a source of “entertainment” in the media, causing profound distress to his client.
Both women arrived at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, flanked by a crowd of photographers, before taking their seats at the front of the courtroom as the hearing began.
They are expected to testify and the trial is set to last about a week.
’Wagatha Christie’: Soccer spouses’ libel battle opens in UK
https://arab.news/28v4j
’Wagatha Christie’: Soccer spouses’ libel battle opens in UK
- Rooney posted the fake tales on purpose over several months
- The stories then appeared in The Sun, and Rooney announced to her followers that Vardy was responsible
Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot
- The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19
- The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said
ARKANSAS, USA: A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone Thursday at the location, which was closed for Christmas. The community of roughly 27,000 people is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.
Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.
“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.
Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
