Rooney sees red
Referee Wolfgang Stark (L) sends off England star Wayne Rooney (R) during their Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro in Podgorica on Friday.Photo: Reuters
Fabio Capello is preparing for life without Wayne Rooney after the striker's dismissal marred England's successful qualification for Euro 2012.
Rooney was shown a straight red card for violent conduct after aiming a needless and petulant kick at Montenegrin defender Miodrag Dzudovic during England's 2-2 draw at the Gradski Stadium on Friday.
Rooney's sending off capped a miserable week for the player following the arrest on Thursday of his father and uncle in connection with allegations of a football betting scam.
But more seriously for Capello, Rooney's moment of madness means England will kick off their campaign in Poland and Ukraine next summer with their most important player serving a suspension.
Rooney's red card also reopens all the old question marks about the striker's temperament, echoing his 2006 World Cup quarterfinal dismissal for a similarly reckless foul on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho.
An unhappy Capello said Rooney had been guilty of a "silly" mistake, and revealed Friday that he plans to use next month's friendly against world champions Spain at Wembley as an opportunity to plan for the player's absence.
"I think all the players are important. But we will find the solution to play without him. We will try something the next game, the next friendly game that we play," the Italian said.
Capello however defended his decision to play Rooney, just a day after the allegations concerning his relatives had emerged.
"(Rooney) made a silly mistake when he kicked the opponent. And he will not play the first match of the Euros because he'll be suspended," Capello said.
"He was not happy because he missed some control and some passes and I think it was for this reason that he kicked the opponent."
Capello admitted however that Rooney's behaviour was indefensible.
"It's a red card. I can't defend that. I'm not happy. Absolutely. I spoke with him, he made a silly mistake. He said 'yes, sorry'," Capello said.
"He's a really important player, he's got a lot of experience, he's played a lot of important games. But it was a silly mistake. What can you do?
"I've seen really important players make silly mistakes before. At that moment you can't understand why this happened."
And a clearly exasperated Capello admitted he was powerless to rein in Rooney's temperament once a match got under way.
"I can speak with him before, but there is nothing I can do when he's playing the game," he said.
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