Thursday, December 11, 2008

Aalborg accuse Rooney over tackle

Share


Aalborg's Kasper Risgard has accused Manchester United's Wayne Rooney of making a dangerous tackle on him during Wednesday's 2-2 Champions League draw.

The incident went unpunished by the referee but Risgard claims it left him physically marked and alleged Rooney, who said "that's football", apologised.

"I don't know what happened but he was jumping on my chest," said Risgard.

Uefa told BBC Sport they could take retrospective action once they have reviewed video footage of the incident.

"I think he was a little bit frustrated," added Risgaard. "Anywhere else but here [Old Trafford] and it would have been a red card.

"That's what happens in football. I can see the marks on my chest, big marks. He apologised so it's okay. That's what happens in football."

However, Rooney played down any suggestion of unnecessary aggression.

"That's football, it's a physical game," he said.

Risgard claimed French referee Laurent Duhamel did not see the incident but if European football's governing body does decide to take action Rooney could face punishment and miss part of the last-16 stage in February.

United are set to face one of Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid, Lyon or Real Madrid after Rooney's equaliser meant they topped group E ahead of Villarreal.

The 23-year-old's 52nd-minute goal also meant United extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 19 games - a record shared with Ajax and Bayern Munich.

Aalborg coach Allan Kuhn said he was not certain Rooney purposely landed on Risgard.

"It is not good for a fantastic footballer," he stated. "You have to keep your head and stay calm in situations like that - but that man was a little bit frustrated.

"I was not sure during the game and I have not seen the pictures, so I cannot be 100% sure, but some of my people have seen it and said it was."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he did not see the incident but did, however, concede it was a feisty game at times and criticised Aalborg goalscorer Jeppe Curth for a challenge on Carlos Tevez.

"Aalborg are not short of tackles are they?" exclaimed Ferguson. "They got stuck in and the one on Carlos was a blatant attack. Probably what saved him was that Carlos got straight up.

"But other than that I don't think it was such a game that you could say it was a filthy match."

Ferguson was delighted that his squad achieved his aim in Group E and added: "We won the group, which is what we wanted to do, and I think the tournament really takes off now.

"We missed too many chances for my comfort - we should have been three up in the first 15 minutes.

"You only need a second to lose a goal and it was quite a shock to us and they made it difficult for us because it gave them a purpose to hold on and defend really.

"It is a great night for them in a way and fortunately we got a goal back.

"Although 2-2 is not a great result for us it has given me an opportunity to play a lot of my players, which is important.

"Winning the group and remaining undefeated is another important issue because it is a good run we are on and we want to keep it that way."

And Ferguson relished the possibility of his side facing Real Madrid in the last 16 because he was infuriated with the Spanish club's president Ramon Calderon in the summer over the pursuit of United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

"That would be a nice party wouldn't it?" quipped Ferguson. "I look forward to tea and biscuits with Ramon Calderon."

0 Comments:

World Of Currencies | Formula One RAcing