Johannesburg, June 8 (IANS) With just three days left for the football World Cup, England manager Fabio Capello is concerned over Wayne Rooney’s suspect temperament blow up.
On Monday the referee in England’s practice match against Platinum Stars, South African club side, revealed he had booked the striker for insulting him.
Rooney quickly became frustrated despite it being such a low-key encounter against relatively weak opposition. It was also supposed to be a goodwill match towards the community, with thousands of schoolchildren in the crowd.
‘Rooney insulted me, he said ‘—- you’,’ Jeff Selogilwe, a local South African referee, revealed after the game. ‘He is a good player when you see him on the TV, but when you see him on the pitch, he just keeps on insulting the referees.’
Selogilwe said that if Rooney continued to behave the way he did he would get sent off in the World Cup.
‘To me, it looks like Rooney insults people and fouls other players. If he insults a referee like me, then he will use that vulgar language to other referees as well.
‘He must learn to control his temper. He could get sent off in the World Cup, especially if he uses this kind of language,’ he said.
Capello warned Rooney about his temperament last year after the striker was sent off against Fulham and, jokingly, also referred to him as a ‘crazy man’ in training.
