England Footballer Obtains Super-Injunction Against the Press

It has been reported this morning that an England footballer has obtained a super-injunction against the press to prevent them from printing stories about his private life.

The footballer, therefore, cannot be named, nor can any details of the story be printed.

The situation is similar to that of John Terry earlier in the year, when he obtained a super-injunction to prevent the press reporting stories that he had an affair with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend.

The injunction was lifted after a judge ruled that it was protecting his sponsorship deals, and not his private life. Terry was stripped of the England captaincy as a result.

There were rumblings of discontent within the England squad at the World Cup, with the English media reporting that Terry was unhappy that Steven Gerrard was made captain for the World Cup.

Gerrard was at the centre of rumours within the English press surrounding his own private life at the time, although these reports were strongly denied by both Gerrard and his wife.

In addition to this, Peter Crouch has been at the centre of media revelations about meetings with a paid call-girl, and was not named in Capello’s squad for last week’s friendly with Hungary.

Should the injunction be lifted again, then the media fallout would be explosive, and the spotlight would once again be upon a high-profile England international and his off-the-field conduct.

Manager Fabio Capello will also be under extreme scrutiny over how he chooses to deal with the player in question.

With a lot of pressure upon the England team and manager to succeed following their disastrous World Cup campaign, it will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds; if, indeed, it unfolds at all.