Wayne Rooney has dodged a potential three-game violent conduct charge with the FA confirming this afternoon that they will take no further action over the clash with Wigan’s James McCarthy.
Rooney appeared to lead with his elbow in a clash with the Wigan midfielder during Manchester United’s 4-0 Premier League victory on Saturday but, with referee Mark Clattenburg acknowledging the incident at the time, the FA cannot act retrospectively within the current rules.
This now means that the influential number 10 will be available for United’s two key Premier League fixtures against Liverpool and Chelsea. It will come as a massive boost for Sir Alex Ferguson as the Red Devils look to preserve their 4 point lead on second place Arsenal. In Fantasy Premier League terms, Rooney’s escape could have significant bearing.
The elbow has been a major talking point since Saturday, with many high-profile figures voicing their opinions on the matter.
Sir Alex Ferguson has accused the press of a witch hunt against Rooney:
“There is nothing in it. But, what will happen, the question has been asked and because it is Wayne Rooney the press will raise a campaign to get him hung by Tuesday or electrocuted or something like that. It is unbelievable.”
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez unsurprisingly had a different opinion to the incident:
“If my player had done that, he would have been very, very lucky to stay on the pitch. It’s clearly a red card, Rooney was very fortunate. If you see it on the television, it is clear. It is an off-the-ball incident and the elbow catches McCarthy in his face. I saw the referee at half-time and he said he felt it wasn’t a red card; that he clipped him.”
Interestingly, former referee Graham Poll offered his view in this morning’s Daily Mail, stressing the he felt it was unlikely that the FA would take further action.
“The only possibility for a charge now would come if the FA send Clattenburg a clip of the incident and ask him to reconsider. They have not done this in recent memory, however, as it is considered ‘re-refereeing’.”
It appears that Poll was accurate of his assessment of the situation but, in many camps, the failure to act on what appears to be a blatant use of the elbow by Rooney, will cause ripples of controversy throughout the Premier League. Potentially, this decision could decide the fate of the title.
In the short-term, Ferguson’s lineup for trip to Stamford Bridge tomorrow night will now be of great interest. With Rooney free to start, Ferguson must now decide whether to have him lead his attack with Nani and Ryan Giggs (if fit) flanking either side in a 4-3-3/4-5-1, or perhaps start with two strikers. That could see Dimitar Berbatov restored to the starting XI, despite Javier Hernandez’s double at the DW Stadium. Alternatively there’s every possibility that Ferguson will shift Rooney out wide, perhaps taking him out of the middle of the park melting pot in what will likely be a lively encounter, fuelled by the weekend incident. That could see Nani on the opposite flank with Berbatov or Hernandez leading the attack.
