Whodunnit? 'WAGatha Christie' libel trial concludes it was Rebekah Vardy

LONDON : Coleen Rooney, the wife of former England soccer captain Wayne, emerged victorious in her high-profile libel match with the spouse of one of his ex-teammates after the High Court in London agreed Rebekah Vardy had leaked stories about her to the press.

In a case that has fascinated the media and public alike with its mix of glamour, soccer, and amateur sleuthing, the court backed Rooney's very public assertion that Vardy had been spilling private details to the Sun tabloid.

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.

She said she blocked everyone from viewing her account except one person and then posted a series of false stories to see whether they leaked out, which she said they had.

She wrote on her social media accounts that only one person had viewed the false stories, concluding with the dramatic revelation: "It's ... Rebekah Vardy's account."

Vardy, 40, sued Rooney and the feud was 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.

The judge, Justice Karen Steyn, said in her ruling that Rooney had successfully proved her allegation was "substantially true". She concluded that Vardy knew and condoned details being leaked to the Sun by her agent Caroline Watt.

During a trial in May, the court was shown message exchanges she had with Watt, which included some derogatory remarks about Rooney and discussions of leaking stories, while Rooney's