is said to have upset Harry Maguire’s fiancée and a series of other wives and girlfriends after tipping off the paparazzi to photograph them during a night out.
The claims were revealed at the by lawyers for as their .
David Sherborne, Rooney’s lawyer, claimed that Maguire’s fiancée Fern Hawkins was among the Wags who were left annoyed at being photographed during a low-key dinner in St Petersburg, , on the eve of England’s first-round match against Belgium in June 2018.
Vardy, 40, Hawkins, and seven other wives and girlfriends were photographed by paparazzi ahead of their dinner and arranged into a line-up for a photo.
A series of WhatsApp messages between Vardy and her agent Caroline Watt which were seen in court appear to show that Vardy was the one who had called the photographers to their location.
Harpreet Robertson, the family liaison officer for the Football Association during the World Cup, said: ‘Fern later expressed her upset to me she had taken part.
‘She said she was embarrassed, wasn’t prepared and had not expected to be put in that position by Mrs Vardy.’
In the WhatsApp conversation, Vardy told Watt: ‘We may have to walk to restaurant from hotel now… so might be a good pic of us walking down it’s about 10/15 mins away,’ to which Watt responded: ‘Ok will let them know thanks.’
Just over an hour and a half later, Vardy sent another message adding: ‘On the way down in the restaurant car… He’s doing two runs.’
Watt replied: ‘Ok. Hopefully he catches you all! Don’t forget to take a group shot,’ to which Vardy added: ‘If he’s here he is hiding in bushes or behind trees lol,’ and Watt responded: ‘He was all set to walk and follow you down.’
Vardy then replied: ‘F**k I made everyone go outside for a pic and the pap was there… Looks like I tipped him off now…
‘Girls have asked me to put it on insta so quick get them out… they want me to put it up before the pap puts his in! I’ve bought about 10 mins.’
Watt then told her 10 minutes would not be long enough for the photographer to get the images out, adding: ‘Try telling them that if you put it on insta now the place will be swarming with paps and that you’ll post it as you leave…
‘They said the only good pic he got was that group one on the steps and he is sending it in to be uploaded.’
Vardy was then asked to identify all the names of the women in the photo, which she later shared online, captioning it ‘crew’.
A source told : ‘No one could understand how the photographers knew where they were going to be eating that night.
‘They didn’t know anything about the meal until the last minute and were horrified when they arrived to see the paps there.
‘A lot of them were mystified. They had their suspicions then but couldn’t prove anything.’
The insider added that the women were ‘livid’ and felt like they had been ‘betrayed’ by someone on the trip.
Vardy had previously claimed to have ‘nothing to do with the photograph, to which Rooney’s lawyer, Paul Lunt, added: ‘Mrs Vardy has since confirmed in her solicitors’ correspondence that this is and was false.’
The trial continues.
