Good to see them taking the really important stuff so seriously
Wayne Rooney has been given a slap on the wrists by the FA after – somewhat bizarrely – they decided it was necessary to investigate his comments about his choice of footwear for a game against Chelsea a whole *16 years* ago.
Rooney, a fresh-faced Manchester United player at the time, said he had chosen the longest possible studs he was permitted to wear for the Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge in April 2006 because he “wanted to hurt someone”.
John Terry suffered a foot injury in the game, which Chelsea ended up winning 3-0.
“For that game I changed them [studs] to big, long metal ones – the maximum length you could have,” Rooney said.
“I wanted to try and hurt someone, try and injure someone.”
Although Terry recently appeared to make light of the incident on Twitter, the FA didn’t appear to see the funny side, contacting the former England captain for an explanation.
🤣🤣 @WayneRooney is this when you left your stud in my foot? 🤣 https://t.co/sSJH7AwCTK
— John Terry (@JohnTerry26) February 7, 2022
The decision to look into the incident caught many by surprise given how much time had passed since. While some have drawn parallels between Roy Keane receiving a fine and a five-game ban in 2002 for his infamous autobiography comments about deliberately injuring Alf Inge Haaland, this, clearly, is a very different scenario.
Whereas Keane was still playing a the time of his investigation, Rooney, now 36, hung up his (shorter-studded) boots last year to concentrate on managing Derby County full-time. A suspension, therefore, was never on the cards.
Despite this, he has been handed a warning by the FA over his future conduct.
It all seems a little bit… pointless.
Related links:
- FA seeking answers after Rooney says he wanted to injure England teammate
- Wayne Rooney reveals he turned down approach from Everton
- Wayne Rooney rules himself out of Man Utd job following Solskjaer dismissal
