At the trial, Wayne Rooney gave evidence that he had spoken to his England team-mate Jamie Vardy during Euro 2016, warning him that Ms Vardy’s media activities proved to be a distraction.
Jamie Vardy denied that such a conversation had taken place. But the judge said: “That’s more likely a reflection of Mr Vardy’s understandable choice not to upset his wife.”
Ms Justice Steyn said Rebekah Vardy had faced “disgusting abuse” by members of the public after Coleen Rooney’s post.
She said: “Some members of the public have responded to the reveal post by subjecting Ms Vardy to vile abuse, including messages wishing her, her family, and even her then-unborn baby ill in the most appalling terms.”
“Nothing that Ms. Vardy has been charged with, nor any of the findings in this judgment, provide any justification or excuse for subjecting her or her family, or any other person involved in this case, to such vitriol.”
‘Measure of self-deception’ on Vardy’s part
Ms Justice Steyn also said there was “a degree of self-deception” on the part of Rebekah Vardy over her role in releasing the information.
She said: “While key pieces of evidence from Ms. Vardy were not credible, my assessment is that she has been genuinely offended by the accusation Ms (Coleen) Rooney leveled against her in the disclosure post.”
“However, that’s not because she wasn’t involved in releasing any information from the private Instagram account: I found out she was.”
“On the contrary, I believe her outrage at the accusation stems from a combination of factors.”
“Mrs. Vardy’s part in releasing information to The Sun, it seems to me, was thoughtless rather than part of a deliberate and coordinated business practice.”
“As a result, there was a degree of self-deception on her part regarding the extent to which she was involved, as well as a degree of justified resentment at the exaggerated way her role was sometimes presented at trial.”