Sport

James McDermott: Celebrity off-the-pitch court dramas are in a league of their own

Rebekah Vardy’s seven-day defamation action in court cost her a hefty £3 million and was the latest example of how football, celebrities and the courts are rarely an even match

Rebekah and Jamie Vardy arrive at Royal Courts of Justice, during the libel battle dubbed the ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial by the media. Picture: Getty

Football and the courts have always made strange bedfellows. This became clear in 1990, when Paul Gascoigne did two things that virtually overnight made him the most famous person in England. The first was to produce a series of brilliant performances at Italia 90, and the second was to start crying when receiving a yellow card that would see him suspended for the World Cup final.

Of course, England never actually made the final, instead ...