A sneakily shot photograph of England and Everton footballer Wayne Rooney has prompted his club manager to read the riot act to newspaper journalists.
David Moyes was upset by pictures taken of the teenage striker at the club’s training ground by a freelance photographer, who used a neighbouring home as a vantage point last Friday.
The Sun and Daily Mirror subsequently carried pictures the following day, and Moyes took up the issue with reporters straight after his club’s game with Newcastle United at Goodison Park at the weekend.
“I know I might be talking to the wrong people but The Sun and Daily Mirror ran stories from the pictures and you all know the reasons why we are trying to protect the boy as much as we can,” Moyes told the post-match press conference. “For somebody to go and pay to take photos of Wayne Rooney and Franny Jeffers from someone’s house, that’s not your fault, but it’s your papers that are buying the pictures from them and you’ve got to admit that’s not on.”
Thinly veiled threats were issued by Moyes, who has tried to shield Rooney from the media spotlight.
He added: “I want a relationship with you people but you’ll understand if I say one day, sorry, it’s not on today. If we can find out who took the photograph of them we will do something about it.”
An Everton spokesman added: “David Moyes treats all the newspapers fairly and expects newspapers, photographers, whoever, to act fairly.
“What is not fair is someone going into someone’s house and taking pictures of what is a private training session. “We will be speaking to the respective desks just to make our feelings known on the matter. I don’t think it will come to a ban, but we will be treating every case on its own merits.”
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