Real 'Footballer's Wives'

It could be a plotline from Footballers' Wives. A glamorous fitness coach at a Division One football team has been given the boot after making the players' partners jealous. Laura Church, 40, was dismissed by Gillingham FC four weeks after joining the club as a £2,000-a-month fitness trainer and nutritionist. She said: "I was called into the chairman's office. I thought I was going to get congratulated on doing a good job. Instead I was given the sack.

"He said that because I'm a beautiful woman I was making the players' wives jealous. He reckoned that if the players were getting grief off their wives, it would affect their performances on the pitch. I was staggered."

Matters came to a head when she sent a text message to player Chris Hope congratulating him on a good performance after a game.

"We'd beaten Canvey Island 7-0 in a preseason friendly. When I got home at midnight I texted him, saying: 'Brilliant game, well done. You're a brilliant player.' I didn't think anything of it - boosting players' confidence is all part of my job - but things went berserk," she said.

"Chris's wife Lisa rang me the next morning and was furious. She said: 'How dare you text my husband. He's got a big enough ego as it is'. I also had problems with the playermanager's wife. I tried to shake her hand once but she just refused."

Ms Church, a runner-up in the Miss Universe bodybuilding competition three years ago, said she felt victimised for having a good body. "If these women had taken the trouble to meet me, they would have realised I had no interest in their husbands.

"In 22 years as a professional trainer, I've never taken a romantic interest in any of my clients. I can only think the wives were insecure because of the way I look - but if they'd have asked, I'd have helped them get into shape. It does sound like something off Footballers' Wives."

Club chairman Paul Scally said: "A text message at 12.10 in the morning did cause the player's wife upset."

Ms Church's arrival was hailed as a leap into the 21st century. She said training methods at Gillingham were dated and officials seemed delighted when her fitness regimes and nutrition plans reaped dividends within weeks.

"The players were so pleased with what we were achieving. They respected me because they knew I was a professional athlete like them. I was basically just one of the lads. When the chairman sacked me, I was devastated. I burst into tears. The players couldn't believe it either - some came up to me and said their wives had absolutely no problem with me."

Ms Church, who has trained athletes, models and pop stars and has her own website www.laurachurch.com, said she has been left with serious financial difficulties.

"I had been working self-employed as a personal fitness trainer and gave up my business and clients when Gillingham headhunted me. It seems incredible that I'm now out of a job because of these women's insecurities."

The single mother-of-one, who was a member of the British Judo team for 10 years, said she now plans to sue the club for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.

"When I left, I got a reference from the player-manager, Andy Hessenthaler, who said he'd recommend me for any position in my field. This shows they respected my work - they just couldn't handle the way I look.

"I'd just like the players to know it's been a pleasure working with them. If any of them want to come to me as a private client, I'll be happy to continue the work we were doing."