LONDON: Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes will be available for Manchester United’s Premiership season opener against Fulham, officials said on Wednesday, thanks to an unusual source of help: the postal service.
Both players were sent off in a pre-season game in Amsterdam last week, and the Dutch Football Association sent a report on the incidents to its English counterpart, which could lead to both players being banned.
However, bans can only start 14 days after the FA receives a report, and an FA official told BBC sport that as of late Tuesday, nothing had arrived in the post. The new season begins on August 19.
Rooney was dismissed for allegedly elbowing a Porto opponent, an offence manager Sir Alex Ferguson insisted was far less serious than as viewed by the referee. Scholes received two yellow cards, but the referee’s report is understood to mention a crunching tackle from behind which brought the second, meaning he could, like Rooney, face a three-game ban for violent conduct.
