WAYNE ROONEY WILL not face disciplinary action for his elbow on Wigan Athletic’s James McCarthy at the DW Stadium on Saturday, as expected.
The English FA spoke to the referee, Mark Clattenburg today. He said he saw the incident and was satisfied that he dealt with it at the time.
Television pictures apparently showed Rooney swipe McCarthy on the back of his head with an elbow after the midfielder had appeared set to block the Manchester United striker’s run.
Clattenburg awarded a free-kick even though he didn’t seem to see the incident. He then made an unusual signal to the linesman.
Any ban would have ruled Rooney out of tomorrow night’s Premier League match against Chelsea, Sunday’s meeting with old rivals Liverpool and the FA Cup quarter-final tie against either Leyton Orient or Arsenal.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said he had no problems with Rooney playing: “If these are the rules, and the FA decided this, I am happy to play against Rooney,” he said.
Here’s footage of the incident in which the colours have been enhanced and a Paul Bascomb soundtrack employed. Presumably this isn’t the clip they used at FA HQ.
