Beckham denies gambling rift

18 april 2006, 16:08

Jeroen | Redacteur

England captain David Beckham has dismissed claims of a rift in the squad caused by card schools and other gambling debts - and insists the only card game he plays is snap.

There were reports of a fall-out between England strike pairing Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen over the former's alleged gambling debts of 700,000 to a bookmaker friend of the Newcastle forward. However, Beckham believes there is no problem in the England set-up.

"The banter and the togetherness of the England team is too strong to be affected by card schools," he said.