England Footballer Ashley Cole has revealed how a “wild rumour” led to him suing the Sun and News of the World for more than £100,000.
Cole sued over stories about an un-named footballer involved in “gay orgies” which were linked to him on websites.
In an article extracted from Cole’s new autobiography “My Defence” in The Times, Cole said: “The story suggested I was dishonest about my sexuality and therefore my marriage to Cheryl was going to be a sham. I weren’t having that. Taking legal action meant I was bringing it all out into the open, but that was the risk I had to take.”
He also referred to the case as “an ugly episode” and writes: “A wild rumour had become a newspaper innuendo, had become a Chinese whisper, had become gossip in internet chat rooms, leading to me being identified as a gay Premiership footballer. I was angry.”
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