Rio Ferdinand urged people to stop “lynching” Wayne Rooney after the England striker let his feet do the talking at Stamford Bridge last night to put Manchester United on course for a fourth Champions League semi-final in five years.
Just hours after an independent regulatory commission heard his appeal against a two-match ban for a foul-mouthed outburst at Upton Park on Saturday, Rooney proceeded to showcase his talent beyond that fiery temperament by scoring the first-half goal that earned United a precious 1-0 quarter-final, first-leg win over Chelsea.
United’s first victory at Stamford Bridge for nine years ensures that they are firm favourites to progress to the last four when Carlo Ancelotti’s team visit Old Trafford for the return leg on Tuesday.
The Football Association will announce this morning whether a commission has increased, upheld or reduced Rooney’s two-match suspension for swearing into a television camera moments after completing a hat-trick in United’s 4-2 win away to West Ham United.
But Ferdinand believes it is time to lay off the controversial forward and instead focus on his qualities as a footballer after his tenth goal in 12 starts kept United firmly in the hunt for a treble of league, Cup and Champions League.
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“That is what Wayne does best,” said the United defender, making his first appearance after nine weeks out with a calf injury. “He is a fantastic footballer and that’s what he loves doing and that’s what he wants to do. There has been a lot of hype about him over the last few days and that will be resolved.
“Hopefully the decision will go his way. We should follow him as a footballer rather than keep lynching him for a lot of the stuff that goes on.
“I wouldn’t say he is innocent in a lot of the stuff that has happened, but the reaction maybe sometimes is, because of the player he is and who he is, over the top.”
Ferdinand added that while Rooney thrived on attention, it was the football spotlight that the player basked in rather than the focus on “the stuff on the outside”.
“Wayne Rooney swearing on TV, as much as I don’t condone it, that is not front-page news,” Ferdinand said. “There are bigger things going on in the world. There are things happening in Libya and Ivory Coast and we are talking about Wayne Rooney on the front page of newspapers and swearing at a camera. I don’t condone it, but it is because it is him and everyone goes over the top.”
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Ancelotti accused the referee of being too scared to award his team a stoppage-time penalty as the pressure mounted on the Chelsea manager.
The Italian was furious with Alberto Undiano Mallenco after the Spanish referee failed to award Chelsea a penalty in the 92nd minute for a foul by Patrice Evra on Ramires.
“It was clear for everyone,” the Chelsea manager said. “Everyone knows it was clear. The problem is I know it’s sometimes not easy to give the penalty in the last minute, and you need to have personality, courage and character.
“Not always do referees have these kind of skills. I’m disappointed but this is the result. This is the past. It was not just the referee — the assistant was in the right position to decide.”
Sir Alex Ferguson said that justice was done by Mallenco’s decision not to give a penalty after the United manager claimed that his team were due some luck at Stamford Bridge after a string of contentious decisions at the ground in recent years.
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“It looked as if the boy [Ramires] made the most of it, but I’ve not seen a replay,” Ferguson said. “It’s the first break we’ve had in seven years here.”
Ferguson also accused Fernando Torres of being a diver after the Chelsea striker, in another borderline call, was booked for trying to win a penalty for his side late on. “He dived, he got booked for it,” the manager said.