Why We Can't Tell You Which Soccer Player Had An Affair With This Lady

Because we don't know. (We're pretty sure it's Giggs, but that's not the point.) And we may never know, as a British judge granted an injunction against a newspaper to prevent it from revealing the details of the player's affair with Imogen Thomas.

Ms. Thomas is a former Ms. Wales, former Big Brother contestant, and glamor (read: topless) model. She also apparently carried on a tryst with the married former international. The Sun, teasing it yesterday. Then, this morning, the player petitioned the High Court and received an injunction against both Thomas and the publishers. They're not allowed to talk about this, and they're certainly not allowed to name names.

On second thought, maybe it's Scholes.

Again, not the point. The point is that there appears to be some kind of de facto privacy law being instituted in the UK, thanks to a spate of activist judges. More than 30 injunctions in instances like this have been granted over the past couple of years, undoubtedly creating a chilling effect that's torpedoed far more. The country's libel laws have long been notoriously strict, with the burden of proof on the defendant. This is more of the same, and in a country where footballers' lives are the business of the front pages, they have to be headed for a showdown in the legislature rather than the courtroom.