Football coach cannot bring defamation action over newspaper report of French court hearing

An Irish football coach cannot bring defamation proceedings over a newspaper report of the French court hearing at which he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for smuggling merchandise dangerous to public health, the High Court ruled.

Darren Lee Proudfoot claims a reference in the report in the Irish Daily Mirror in January 2018 that he was "a known dealer and was under surveillance in his home country" was completely false and never said in the French court. The newspaper denies his claims and denies the article was defamatory.