Rooney waits on red card decision
Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping Wayne Rooney will not be handed a suspension after his sending off in the pre-season friendly against FC Porto.
The 20-year-old frontman scored in the 3-1 win but was dismissed four minutes before half time after an aerial challenge with Porto's Pepe. It appeared a harsh decision by referee Ruud Bossen to give a straight red card for an incident Sir Alex described as "innocuous".
The referee can report the incident to the Dutch Football Association, who can in turn can pass it on to the English FA and they could punish Rooney if they feel it necessary to do so. He could miss three matches at the start of the season, which would include Fulham, Charlton and Watford.
"I've seen the incident with Wayne and it was innocuous," Sir Alex told Sky Sports. "You would think common sense and fairness would prevail. It's a ridiculous decision, but we will have to wait and see what happens."
The United boss was disappointed with the reaction of some of Porto's players, adding: "We talk about players diving and play-acting so often that it has become the norm and people accept it now. Of course, we can't allow that. [Pepe] made a meal of it. And I thought the referee should have done better than he did. Ole was elbowed, but the ref warned the player and got on with it."
