Wayne Rooney was notoriously hot headed at times throughout his Manchester United and England career.
Signed in 2003 from Everton, Wayne Rooney’s aggression and passion was a clear strength.
The 18-year-old would run through a brick wall if it meant he would score a goal for Manchester United.
However, as much as this trait is something that Sir Alex Ferguson would have loved, there were times that this become a negative and led to several red cards over the course of his career.
Most famously, Rooney was sent off for England during World Cup 2006 against Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions making his United teammate irate after the stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.
In total, Rooney accumulated three red cards for United which places him sixth in the all-time standings at the club and is the same amount as the great Denis Law.
However, one of Rooney’s red cards was particularly bizarre.
Wayne Rooney receiving red card for tackle during Manchester United vs Porto in 2006.
Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
More United News
When Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes saw red in pre-season
All the way back in the summer of 2006, Rooney had just returned from the World Cup, and while he and Ronaldo put their differences aside, his anger toward Portugal seemed to have remained.
This is because on August 4th 2006, during pre-season, Rooney played for United against Porto in a friendly over in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and was sent off in this game against the Portuguese giants, as The Guardian described at the time.
Paul Scholes also saw red in the game, which many wouldn’t have thought anything of given it was a friendly. However, both were subjected to three match bans.
Rooney was found to have struck an opponent during an aerial challenge, while Scholes was guilty of serious foul play after fouling from behind.
The FA ruled that due to the severity of the fouls a three-game ban would be upheld, despite United appealing, and the pair therefore missed the second, third and fourth Premier League fixtures of the season.
This didn’t prove too impactful as Rooney still scored 23 goals and assisted 15 in all competitions as United lifted the Premier League title for the first time in four years.
Ferguson, however, was livid that Rooney and Scholes’ red card in a friendly had been served in the Premier League, as Manchester Evening News explained.
It really was a ridiculous rule which we can’t imagine happening today.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction to Wayne Rooney red card for Manchester United
While both red cards were frustrating, Ferguson admitted Scholes had no defence for a bad tackle, however he believed Rooney was a victim of his reputation.
“There is an element of Wayne’s reputation going before him,” Ferguson said as quoted by the BBC.
“I do not know what the referee was thinking because only a minute before that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was elbowed and he didn’t even warn the player.
“I do not see the difference between what the Porto player did and what Wayne did apart from one of the players is called Wayne Rooney.
“Wayne was surprised. It was unfair because their player made a meal of the situation but unfortunately that sort of thing is endemic in our game now.”