Soccer: Rooney 'gobsmacked' to be sent off

LONDON - Forward Wayne Rooney said he was "gobsmacked" to be sent off against Portugal at the World Cup and did not deliberately stamp on defender Ricardo Carvalho.

"When the referee produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked," Rooney said in a statement. "I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my foot down on Ricardo Carvalho."

Rooney was dismissed by Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo in the 62nd minute of Saturday's quarter-final after battling through the challenges of two players and treading on Carvalho's groin as he tried to disentangle himself.

"...what happened didn't warrant a red card," added Rooney. "If anything, I feel we should have had a free kick for the fouls committed on me during the same incident.

"He slid in from behind me and unfortunately ended up in a position where my foot was inevitably going to end up as I kept my balance. That's all there was to it.

"If you ask any player... they will tell you that I am straight and honest in the way I play.

"From what I've seen in the World Cup, most players would have gone to ground at the slightest contact but my only thought then was to keep possession for England.

Bitterly disappointed

British media reported on Monday that Rooney was furious with Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo, his Manchester United club mate, who rushed 40 metres to the referee, apparently to demand a card for the England forward.

However, Rooney said in the statement: "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not team mates."

Ronaldo said afterwards that he complained to the referee about the foul but did not ask for a red card to be shown.

"Obviously, I'm bitterly disappointed to have been sent off in a World Cup finals match for England," added Rooney.

Ronaldo: No problem between me and Rooney

Ronaldo said there was no animosity between him and Rooney despite the furore over the winger's actions when the England forward was red carded.

"There is no problem at all between me and Rooney," Ronaldo told the website of the Gestifute agency, which represents him. "At the end of the game, we exchanged a series of text messages just as we had on the day before.

"This reinforces that I have a fine relationship with Rooney. Between the two of us, everything is clear," added Ronaldo who plays with Rooney at Manchester United.

"I complained to the referee about the foul but I didn't ask for a red card," the Portugal winger said after the match.

"How is it possible that I would help to get him sent off? I am not the referee with the power to send off anyone I want, nor do I have the ability to convince him to show cards," he added on Monday.

"The referee produced the red card because he thought that he had to, and my participation in that was absolutely zero."

Ronaldo said Rooney had told him to ignore the English press saying "they only want to stir things up".

"Statements have appeared as if they were from him, saying that he didn't want to play with me in Manchester," said Ronaldo. "That's not what he wants. Of course he wants to (play with me). This is absolutely false, he said so himself..."

"In fact, he didn't just send me congratulations for going forward in the World Cup, he also told me we have a great team, and if we carry on as we have, we will get a long way. He wasn't angry with me, or about anything that happened."

In his statement Rooney also paid tribute to departing England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and captain David Beckham.

"I want to say how sorry I am to see Sven go and to see David step down as captain," he said.

"I will always be grateful to Sven for his guidance and the faith he showed in me and to David for being a great captain and great friend."

- REUTERS