Wayne Rooney was told on Friday his World Cup would escape disruption from a potentially costly court verdict after a judge said he would defer a ruling while the England striker was in South Africa.
Rooney and his wife Coleen are being sued by sports management firm Proactive, which insists it is owed 20 percent of the couple s earnings since they left the company in 2008.
Their departure came following an acrimonious row between the company and former Proactive director Paul Stretford which led Stretford to quit the firm but retain the Rooneys as clients.
Manchester United forward Rooney is widely regarded as vital to England s chances of winning the World Cup, which started in South Africa on Friday, with English fans desperate for him to stay fit and keep his volatile temper in check so as to avoid suspension.
There had been fears the 24-year-old Rooney s well-being could be disrupted by having to make a multi-million pounds payout during the World Cup, with some reports suggesting Judge Brendan Hegarty QC was ready to deliver a verdict.
But a statement issued by England s Judicial Office said: After hearing representation from the parties, Judge Hegarty QC has decided not to circulate or hand down his judgment in this case so long as Mr Wayne Rooney remains actively involved in the World Cup 2010.
England who have won the World Cup just once, on home soil in 1966, play their first match of this year s tournament against the United States in Rustenburg on Saturday.
