Wayne Rooney had ‘awkward’ chat with Jamie Vardy about wife’s column, court told

Wayne Rooney asked Jamie Vardy if his wife could cut back on her media activities during the Euro 2016 football tournament because it was causing “distractions” for the England team, the high court has heard.

Rooney told the “Wagatha Christie” libel trial that the then-England manager Roy Hodgson and assistant manager Gary Neville were both concerned that Rebekah Vardy’s decision to write a column for the Sun during the contest was disrupting the squad.

Rooney said it was “awkward” that he had to have the chat with his fellow England striker, but the team’s management wanted to find a solution: “They asked me as captain to see if I could speak to Mr Vardy on issues regarding his wife. We all knew that it was an awkward subject so I needed to speak to Mr Vardy and ask him to speak to his wife – and ask him to ask his wife to calm down.”

England’s record goalscorer was part of a squad that was unexpectedly knocked out of the tournament by Iceland. While preparing for one match, Rooney took time to speak to his fellow striker: “I remember the conversation I had with Jamie. It was a bit awkward for me to have to speak with a teammate regarding his wife. I sat down with Jamie Vardy and he had a coffee. It was such an awkward moment.”

Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy, who has been training and playing for his Premier League club during the rest of the trial, turned up at the high court in central London for the first time. His wife, Rebekah, is suing fellow footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney for libel, after Coleen alleged Rebekah was passing stories from a private Instagram account to the Sun.

The Vardys sat on the frontbench a metre apart from the Rooneys. The two women occasionally glanced sideways at each other, while their two