He’s still my mate, says Rooney

LONDON: England striker Wayne Rooney has insisted the offence that prompted his expulsion from a World Cup quarter-final was an accident.

Rooney was sent off after appearing to stamp on the groin of Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho in the 62nd minute of the quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen two weeks ago.
England went on to lose the match on penalties, after extra time ended in a 0-0 draw. “I’ll go to my grave and still maintain it was a complete accident,” Rooney said in extracts from his autobiography published in the Mail on Sunday.

“When I fell I had my back to the player. I couldn’t see him, or where I was putting my foot. If it had been a definite stamp meant to harm him, the fella would still be in hospital to this day. But he was up on his feet in minutes, no worse for wear.

“It was all the sort of thing that happens when you are fighting hard for the ball,” added Rooney, who was banned for two matches and fined 5,000 Swiss francs ($4,044) by FIFA’s disciplinary committee for the incident.

Rooney said he was “disappointed” that Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, his team mate at Manchester United, had rushed to the referee after the incident, apparently to demand that a red card be shown. Ronaldo was seen winking at his bench as Rooney walked off.

However, Rooney said his anger with Ronaldo did not last. “On the coach, on the way home after the game, I sent a text to Ronny (Ronaldo). I told him to forget about what happened. I wasn’t blaming him for interfering.

“Then I wished him and Portugal good luck in the semis and hoped they got to the final. And I meant it.”

Portugal lost 1-0 to France in the semi-finals. Newspapers have linked Ronaldo with a move to Real Madrid but Manchester United said this week that they expected him to honour his contract, which runs until 2010.

Insisting that they are still mates, mercurial England forward Wayne Rooney has rubbished reports that he is trying to get Cristiano Ronaldo ousted from Manchester United.
“I was disappointed by Ronny (Ronaldo) trying to get me carded and I gave him a bit of a push in the chest (on the pitch). But that was it. It seemed that the papers were trying to stir it up, rubbishing him, blaming him,” he wrote.

The forward said contrary to the popular perception, he was not a hot-head but a shy, sensitive person. He revealed that he cried after the incident — something he doesn’t do very often — when his team mates consoled him after the incident.

“The players came over to me, one by one, said things like: ‘Don’t worry, Wazza, it wasn’t your fault...don’t be too upset’.

“That was when, for the first time, I felt a few tears come into my eyes. I don’t cry often. And I hadn’t cried when I’d been sent off. I was beginning to feel sad - this time for them, rather than myself,’’ he revealed. “I think I’m a quiet, sensitive, retiring shy person,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, quoting sources close to Rooney, the ‘Daily Mirror’ reported that the England forward was trying his best to make Ronaldo change his mind against a possible move to Real Madrid or Barcelona.

“Wayne will be absolutely delighted if Ronaldo remains at United, and looks forward to playing alongside him next season. It’s absolute absurd that Wayne wants Ronaldo out. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He still regards him as a mate,” the source told the daily.

Ronaldo is looking to leave United for Real as he fears hostile reception from England fans, who, according to media reports here, hold him responsible for Rooney’s red card in the match.