Legal Issues in the Media

John Terry vs The Sun In 2010, Premier League footballer and England captain John Terry obtained a super-injunction after

discovering that a newspaper, The Sun,  was about to reveal that he had had a four-month affair in late 2009 with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, his former Chelsea teammate. The injunction was lifted a week later and the British media -especially the tabloid press - covered it in great detail in the days following.

A report written by Gordon Rayner and Martin Evans in the Telegraph says that ‘Mr. Justice Tugendhat decided he should lift a temporary gagging order he had granted which prevented the media from reporting that the £150,000-a-week footballer had conducted an extra-marital affair with the ex-girlfriend of his England team-mate Wayne Bridge.’ The judge stated that the injunction brought out by Terry was ‘not necessary’ as the former footballer’s complaint was mainly to protect his reputation and also his sponsors. The privacy law did not apply in this matter and newspapers argued that all of the revealing details which would be printed would all be in the public’s interest. They argued that any fall-out between any of the players could ‘effect team morale in the England camp and even influence team selection at this year’s World Cup.’ Rayner and Evans also commented on the MPs and the lawyers who had criticized  the judge’s original decision to impose an injunction. There was a claim that the decision was another instance of anonymity being granted by the courts which enables the rich and powerful to prevent any negative publicity being published.

Another report by news.com claimed that new claims have been said about John Terry. They also said that The Sun newspaper claimed that the former girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, Vanessa Perroncel and flings with several players; strikers Adrian Mutu and Eider Gudjohnsen, Skipper Terry and his betrayed friend Wayne Bridge plus another mystery blue player. As allegations have been made, John terry faces calls to quit as England Captain. Reports have been made to suggest that Terry had plans to stick around, Fabio Capello being the England coach had Terry’s final call in the palm of his hand.

In my personal opinion of the John Terry allegation is balanced. In some ways, privacy law should of been endorsed and brought up more as it goes with human rights which everyone is entitled to as its their life and no one should be breaching their privacy which would humiliate them. The choice’s they make should not be shared with the world, or broadcasted as not every person wants their business to be all over which everyone can read. People can judge Terry on allegations made and without proof it could ruin both the football club and the players reputation. However, the allegation should of been made public as he’s taken on a job which is professional, Terry has many fans in the world who support him and look up to him, in ways he should be setting examples and if choices he makes affects how the team play, or the team altogether then the public won’t be very supportive of the football team anymore. The football team itself would start to be hated as they won’t play as good on the field as they normally do, meaning Chelsea would lose profits and struggle as more people would lose faith in the football team and support another team. This would mean there would a be a dramatic financial problem for Chelsea as the public are the main interest for the football team.