The case has already spawned television dramas, a West End show and Disney+ documentary, but the latest installment of the WAGatha Christie drama will play out at St Andrew’s stadium in Birmingham on Monday night.
After the infamous public spat and legal case between their wives Coleen and Rebekah, Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City will take on Jamie Vardy’s Leicester City – although the Foxes’ talisman is unlikely to feature due to injury the spotlight will still be on him.
The Championship match has become appointment viewing since Rooney was named as Blues boss in October.
Fans immediately christened the match as the ‘Rebekah Vardy Derby’ and ‘Wagatha Christie part two’.
Having initially been scheduled for a 3pm Saturday kick-off, Sky Sports took the decision to broadcast the fixture, leading it to be switched to 8pm on Monday night.
Coleen Rooney, left, sensationally won the ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel case over Rebekah Vardy
The famous trial has increased excitement for a match between Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City against a Leicester side captained by Jamie Vardy on Monday night
The off-pitch drama has led to the match featuring Vardy, pictured, being chosen for broadcast with fans having dubbed the clash the ‘Rebekah Vardy Derby’ and ‘ Wagatha Christie part two’
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The slot is normally reserved for Premier League clashes, indicating its Box Office potential.
There is plenty of intrigue on the pitch with Leicester captain Vardy’s side chasing promotion back to the Premier League and Rooney facing pressure after a slow start at Birmingham.
However, many will be tuning in for the off-the-pitch drama as the two sides meet for the first time since their wives’ court case.
What happened in WAGatha Christie?
The spat between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney spectacularly began in 2019, with the latter making sensational claims on Instagram.
Coleen stunningly claimed Vardy had been leaking ‘false stories’ about her private life to journalists from The Sun newspaper.
‘For a few years now someone who I trusted to follow me on my personal Instagram account has been consistently informing The SUN newspaper of my private posts and stories,’ Rooney wrote.
‘There has been so much information given to them about me, my friends and my family — all without my permission or knowledge. After a long time of trying to figure out who it could be, for various reasons, I had a suspicion.
‘To try and prove this, I came up with an idea. I blocked everyone from viewing my Instagram stories except ONE account. (Those on my private account must have been wondering why I haven’t had stories on there for a while.)
Coleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking ‘false stories’ about her to the press in 2019
Vardy denied any involvement and later launched a high profile libel case against Rooney
The libel case dubbed ‘Wagatha Christie’ was decided at the High Court in July last year
Rebekah, the wife of Leicester star Jamie, ultimately lost the 2022 £3million libel case
‘Over the past five months I have posted a series of false stories to see if they made their way into the Sun newspaper. And you know what, they did! The story about gender selection in Mexico, the story about returning to TV and then the latest story about the basement flooding in my new house.
‘It’s been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know for certain which account/individual it’s come from. I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them.
‘It’s………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
Coleen’s elaborate sting operation and reveal led to birth of ‘Wagatha Christie’, after she revealed she had made-up fake personal stories on social media to whittle down who was responsible for leaks.
Vardy denied Rooney’s allegation and launched a libel case, which eventually resulted in a High Court battle.
The case concluded last year with Vardy losing the £3million case, after a judge dismissed her evidence as ‘evasive or implausible’. Her agent was also accused of intentionally dropping her phone in the North Sea.
Justice Karen Steyn, said in her ruling that Coleen had successfully proved her allegation was substantially true. The judge said in her judgment in July that it was ‘likely’ that Mrs Vardy’s agent Caroline Watt ‘undertook the direct act’ of passing on information to The Sun.
The libel case has spawned a Disney documentary series as well as both stage and TV dramas
The judge said: ‘The evidence clearly shows in my view that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it.’
Media litigator’s suggested the verdict left Rebekah’s ‘credibility in tatters’, while she was ordered to pay her rival’s costs as well as her own.
The remarkable case led to the Channel 4 dramatisation called ‘Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama’, while a stage play Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial was held over three months in the West End.
Rooney’s appointment as Birmingham City boss in October came just a week before the launch of the three-part Disney+ series ‘Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story’, adding further spice to the upcoming match.
What did Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy say during the case?
While the spotlight largely fell on Coleen and Rebekah during the trial, the pair were supported by their husbands throughout.
Coleen was accompanied by Wayne for each day of the trial, with the two photographed at the High Court as they put on a united front.
Jamie only accompanied Rebekah once during the trial, on the day when his former international colleague Wayne was giving evidence.
Coleen claimed in October that Jamie ‘could have been there more than he was’ when asked if she was surprised by his absence, but acknowledged the Leicester star was still playing for his club.
In Rooney’s evidence he claimed then England manager Roy Hodgson and assistant Gary Neville had asked him to speak to Jamie during England’s ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign.
The two former England stars were both depicted in court with their wives during the trial
Kai, Coleen and Wayne Rooney attended the unveiling of the screening of “Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, which was streamed just days after Rooney became Birmingham boss
Rooney had told the court that the FA had wanted to avoid distractions at the tournament in France and wanted Vardy to ‘calm down’ Rebekah having been concerned over column in the Sun.
‘They asked me to, as captain, would I be able to speak to Mr Vardy on issues regarding his wife and I think we all knew we spoke about it, it was an awkward subject,’ Rooney said.
Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC asked him: ‘Ask his wife to calm down – she wasn’t dancing on tables?’ Rooney said: ‘No, I wasn’t aware of that. It was a lot of negativity amongst a lot of media coverage which as a group of players and as the manager of England he didn’t want that to happen, so he asked would I be able to speak to Jamie and I went and done so.’
Among the issues was the idea Rebekah had ‘some kind of column in The Sun’, the court heard. Rooney added: ‘I think there was a few things at the time with Rebekah which the leaders of the team asked me to speak to Jamie about. I was at the understanding Rebekah had a column in The Sun newspaper and as I state… I obviously had better things on my mind. It was obviously awkward for me.’
Rooney added that there had been negative media coverage, saying: ‘I was asked to speak to Mr Vardy by the England manager and I carried out that instruction. It was an awkward situation for me and I’m sure it was an awkward situation for Mr Vardy, but I felt it was in the best interests of the team.’
Vardy later hit back at the claim, accusing Rooney of ‘talking nonsense.’
Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy, top, were pictured in the stands during England’s ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign in France
Rooney claimed the FA had asked him to speak to Jamie about Rebekah during the 2016 Euros
The ex-England captain said he was instructed by manager Roy Hodgson to speak to Vardy
‘He must be confused because he never spoke to me about issues concerning Becky’s media work at Euro 2016. There was nothing to speak about, I know this because I discuss everything with Becky,’ Vardy said through his representatives.
Rooney insisted he ‘100 per cent spoke to Vardy’ and revealed the Leicester striker was not someone ‘I have ever particularly been friends with on a social level.
Despite the tension of the legal battle, Rooney has previously indicated his respect for Vardy on the pitch, admitting he would have tried to get the striker to reverse his international retirement to feature at Euro 2020.
‘One man I wish was in Gareth’s squad is Jamie Vardy,’ Rooney wrote in a Sunday Times column. ‘I would have tried absolutely everything to lure him out of retirement for these finals.
‘I know some people may be surprised at this, especially with the legal case between my wife and Jamie’s wife, but this is my honest football opinion.
‘He may be 34, but Jamie is still a brilliant player, who was involved in 24 goals in the Premier League this season and would have been a great asset – not only as an impact sub but as a potential starter.’
Have Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy spoken since?
According to Coleen, no.
She revealed earlier this year that Wayne ‘would have like to’ contact his former international team-mate during the case, but didn’t on her request.
Coleen said there had also been no contact between the former England stars since the conclusion of the case.
The much anticipated meeting on Monday is only taking place after Rooney continued to pursue his ambitions in management.
Rooney is now into the third managerial role of his career at Birmingham, after previous spells in charge of Derby and Major League Soccer side DC United in the United States.
The Birmingham City manager admitted after taking the hotseat in October how he had nearly changed career paths to pursue law, having become ‘obsessed’ with the Wagatha Christie case.
Coleen revealed she had blocked Wayne from speaking to Jamie during the court case
The former England team-mates disputed each other’s comments during the case and have not spoken since the verdict
Rooney previously claimed he would attempted to convince Vardy to end his international retirement had he been the England manager ahead of Euro 2020
‘Yeah, it was interesting because I do like crime documentaries and in particular the different techniques the two barristers used,’ Rooney said during the Disney+ documentary.
Wayne would often attend the daily briefings with Coleen and her lawyers, Paul Lunt and David Sherborne, where he would suggest legal arguments. After one particular interjection from her husband, Coleen recalls saying to him: ‘Wayne shut up and let David or Paul speak’.
Coleen’s lawyer Jamie Hurworth said: ‘Once the day was finished we would have a little debrief with Wayne and Coleen. I had not dealt with Wayne that much before the trial. But he was just fascinated by the whole thing.
‘Wayne started suggesting, like, legal argument that we should start running.’
Coleen’s lead lawyer Paul Lunt added: ‘I’m not saying he is a modern day Columbo but certainly had we have given him a gown and a wig he was bang up for asking a few questions.’
Rooney, speaking at a Birmingham City press conference in October, confirmed he had applied to study law before becoming DC United manager.
‘When I left Derby I applied to do a degree in law, I was going through the process and then obviously the job at DC United came up, so I went into that,’ Rooney said.
‘If I wasn’t working in football, it is probably something I would revisit because it is a real interest of mine.
‘There is always room [for people from working classes in law], sometimes the best minds in the world are from difficult backgrounds because they have been through and seen a lot.’
The Birmingham manager has admitted he previously applied to study law and spoke of his fascination of the techniques used by barrister during the case
Rooney has since continued his management career and was named Birmingham boss in October
Who wins this time?
While there was a decisive victory for Coleen over Rebekah in the High Court, the prospects look better for Vardy’s side on the pitch.
Leicester are flying in the second tier following their relegation from the Premier League last season, with the Foxes having made statistically the best start to a Championship season.
Enzo Maresca’s team look well placed to secure a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, with the club and Ipswich clear in the two automatic promotion spots.
Vardy, one of the central figures in Leicester’s fairytale Premier League title win in 2016, still remains influential despite being in the twilight of his career, with the 36-year-old the Foxes top scorer this season with seven goals.
Pressure eased on Rooney after Birmingham earned a 1-0 win in midweek against Cardiff
Vardy celebrated in front of Bristol City supporters after scoring against their side in September, after he had been mocked over the outcome of the Wagatha Christie case
It remains to be seen whether Rebekah Vardy, pictured, will be in the stands to support her husband during Monday night’s fixture
Rooney is having a tougher time as Birmingham boss, with eyebrows having been raised when the former England and Man United star replaced John Eustace in October.
The Blues were sixth in the table at the time of Rooney’s appointment, with the 38-year-old admitting the club’s sights were set on promotion to the Premier League.
Birmingham have slid down the table since Rooney took charge and head into the weekend lying 16th in the Championship. To date Rooney has overseen just two wins in 10 matches and has suffered six defeats, although he did celebrate a 1-0 win in midweek against Cardiff.
Rooney was brutally mocked with the chant of ‘sacked in the morning’ by Coventry City fans this month, after they earned a 2-0 win over his Birmingham side. Leicester fans make take the chance to twist the knife should Rooney’s side suffer another defeat on Monday.
Songs from either set of fans about the Wagatha Christie saga should not be ruled out on Monday. Man United supporters had thrown their support behind club legend Rooney earlier this year during a 3-0 win over Leicester.
Man United supporters were heard chanting ‘Jamie Vardy, your wife is a grass’ and ‘Rooney, Rooney, Rooney’ to mock the Foxes forward.
Bristol City fans replicated the chants in September, prompting Vardy to run the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the 3,300 supporters after scoring a penalty. Vardy cupped a hand to his ear and stared down members of the crowd before pointing to his name on the back of his shirt.
With the Rooneys leading off the pitch, it will soon be time to see who wins on it.