Giggs misses United training session
Reuters - Tuesday 24 May 2011, 18:06
MANCHESTER - Ryan Giggs missed
Manchester United's open training session on Tuesday a day after
being named in Parliament as the player at the centre of a
high-profile privacy case.
Giggs was pictured on the front pages of national newspapers
after he was identified by a member of parliament as the
footballer who had gained a High Court injunction preventing
allegations of an affair being published.
The 37-year-old Welshman was not the only player missing
from training as the English title winners prepared for
Saturday's Champions League Final against Barcelona at Wembley.
Defender Rafael, midfielder Paul Scholes, goalkeeper Edwin
van der Sar and striker Dimitar Berbatov also sat out a session
watched by around 200 reporters.
Giggs, one of United's most influential players this season
as the club sealed a record 19th English title, is expected to
be in the starting line-up for Saturday's showdown against the
Spanish champions.
In a news conference after the training session, United
manager Sir Alex Ferguson deflected questions about Giggs.
"All the players are important, every one of them," Ferguson
snapped when one reporter asked how big an influence Giggs was
on the team.
Police said a group of men vandalised cars belonging to
reporters which were parked outside Giggs's home on Tuesday.
"Officers attended and discovered at least six cars had been
vandalised after a group of offenders arrived in a Ford Transit
van and attacked the vehicles," Greater Manchester police said
in a statement.
Media, citing reporters at the scene, said tyres were
slashed, and cars pelted with flour and eggs.