England star Wayne Rooney's libel trial against the Sun will start just weeks before next year's World Cup - disrupting both parties' preparation for the biggest sporting and media event of the year.
SILLY BOY
England star Wayne Rooney's libel trial against the Sun will start just weeks before next year's World Cup - disrupting both parties' preparation for the biggest sporting and media event of the year.
The newspaper's allegations that the England footballer slapped his fiancée, Coleen McLoughlin, in a nightclub will be disputed by the footballer in a trial that starts on May 2, Rooney's legal firm Schillings said today.
The trial is due to begin just five weeks before the World Cup kicks off in Germany on June 9, engaging the tabloid in a bitter court battle at the same time it is due to be championing Rooney and his England team-mates in its pages.
Both Rooney and Ms McLoughlin deny the allegation and believe the newspaper is running a campaign against them, a source close to the couple has said.
"Wayne has been subject to a campaign by the Sun and a lot of it has been totally untrue," the source told MediaGuardian.co.uk in April.
"[Sun editor] Rebekah Wade has made it clear that Wayne is not a proper role model and is looking for a scalp. The campaign against him has become very personal."
In March the Sun ran a story alleging that Rooney had punched a student in a Manchester bar. The man in question later withdrew a police complaint about the incident.
The newspaper denies it has a vendetta against the couple. It has previously lauded the footballer in a paid series of interviews with Rooney after he emerged as the star of Euro 2004.
The trial, expected to last a week, will be held in the royal courts of justice.