Wayne Rooney, England
England Qualify With 2-2 Draw v Montenegro
Top Premier League goalscorer, Wayne Rooney, plays for the England National Team – and has been a key player in getting England qualified for the Euro 2012 playoffs.
However Rooney may not be on the England squad for the playoffs.
England boss, Fabio Capello, stated that Rooney made a “silly mistake” that will keep him out at the start of next summer’s European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
Rooney’s red card and dismissal for kicking Miodrag Dzudovic 17 minutes from time will cause an automatic one‑match ban.
And UEFA has the option to extend that by a further game.
“It’s a red card and you can’t defend it,” said Capello.
“I’m not happy, absolutely. I spoke with him and he admitted he’d made a silly mistake and said: ‘Yes, I’m sorry.’ More than that, what can I do? He’s a really important player with a lot of experience, and he’s played really important games before. But he’s made a silly mistake. I’ve seen players like him do that.
“You can’t understand why. I can’t enter into the head of Wayne Rooney when he plays. I can speak to him before the game, and I can substitute him. I can find different solutions. But you cannot understand the reaction of the players during the game, why things happen. Not just Rooney. Here he was not happy because he had missed some control and passes. His reaction was to kick his opponent.”
The build-up to the game had been marred by the arrest of Rooney’s father, Wayne Sr, and eight other people over suspicious betting patterns surrounding the dismissal of Motherwell’s Steve Jennings in a match against Hearts last December. Rooney was apparently “calm and relaxed” before this fixture, though the Montenegro manager, Branko Brnovic, admitted some surprise that the 25-year-old had been selected.
“I read in the newspapers that Rooney has some family problems in England,” said Brnovic, whose side secured a play-off place at Switzerland’s expense with this draw. “To be honest, I didn’t expect him to play because those things are serious and it’s not easy to concentrate on the game. They’re serious, and maybe that’s why he did what he did.”
Rooney and David Beckham are the only England players to be dismissed twice in their country’s colours.
“Wayne is gutted,” said the England goalkeeper Joe Hart. “It was so petty. I saw Danny Welbeck take one in the jaw about five minutes later [in a clash with the home side's substitute Milan Jovanovic], and I was thinking: ‘What’s happened there? Why isn’t that a red card?’ But we showed true and grit and determination, and I’m so proud to be a part of this England team.”
“We will find a solution to play without him,” said Capello. “We will try something in the next friendly games to prepare for the future.”
“We are first in the table and our goal was always to qualify,” added Capello. “This has been a good experience for us. The players better understand they need to be focused for 90 minutes, not just for 35. I hope we have learned a good lesson for the future.”
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