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England Striker Wayne Rooney Has Euro 2012 Ban Cut By One Game To Two-Match Suspension Following Successful Appeal
The Manchester United striker is now set to feature in Fabio Capello's side's final group stage fixture against Ukraine but the sanction could be reinstated for further offences
08-Dec-2011 4:00:00 PM
Wayne Rooney could feature in England's final Euro 2012 group stage game against Ukraine after seeing his three-match international suspension reduced to two matches by Uefa.
The Manchester United striker was appealing against a ban that would have seen him miss the entirety of the first phase of the competition for his red card in England's final qualifier against Montenegro.
The third game of the ban has now been suspended for four years, meaning that if Rooney lands himself in any more trouble in another game in the European Championships, it could be reinstated. He will also take part in a Uefa community programme.
The 26-year old was in Nyon, Switzerland, at Uefa's headquarters, along with four lawyers and England manager Fabio Capello to argue the case for a reduced punishment.
Club England director Adrian Bevington was "very pleased" with the outcome of the appeal, and explained its conditions.
"The suspension is now suspended for four years so Wayne will be available for the final group game of the European Championships against Ukraine – so in effect it’s a two-match suspension with one carried over a four-year period for the national teams," Bevington told Sky Sports News.
"We’re very pleased with that today. Wayne’s presence here was clearly important so I’d like to make a special thanks to Manchester United; to David Gill and to Sir Alex Ferguson for releasing Wayne to be present.
"I’d also like to pay special tribute to Adam Lewis QC who led our case with Antonio Rigozzi, Jon Ellis and James Bonnington. It’s been very important that this has been worked through very professionally.
"Wayne has also agreed to support one day of a Uefa programme during the forthcoming period and we would expect him to do so while he’s on national team duty – so there will be no impact on his Manchester United time there as well.
"With regards to any further red card offences of a certain nature during the four-year period, that actually has an impact on whether he’s dismissed for England or his club as well, but the actual suspension penalty can only be applied to England.
"So we’re very grateful for the time we’ve been given by Uefa today. The commission considered everything. They listened to evidence from Wayne and from Fabio Capello as well and we’re pleased with the outcome.
"We’ve had a very fair hearing. Clearly it was very important that both Wayne and Fabio attended and obviously the outcome of Wayne being available for the third group game is a positive result for us."
The Manchester United striker was appealing against a ban that would have seen him miss the entirety of the first phase of the competition for his red card in England's final qualifier against Montenegro.
The third game of the ban has now been suspended for four years, meaning that if Rooney lands himself in any more trouble in another game in the European Championships, it could be reinstated. He will also take part in a Uefa community programme.
The 26-year old was in Nyon, Switzerland, at Uefa's headquarters, along with four lawyers and England manager Fabio Capello to argue the case for a reduced punishment.
Club England director Adrian Bevington was "very pleased" with the outcome of the appeal, and explained its conditions.
"The suspension is now suspended for four years so Wayne will be available for the final group game of the European Championships against Ukraine – so in effect it’s a two-match suspension with one carried over a four-year period for the national teams," Bevington told Sky Sports News.
"We’re very pleased with that today. Wayne’s presence here was clearly important so I’d like to make a special thanks to Manchester United; to David Gill and to Sir Alex Ferguson for releasing Wayne to be present.
"I’d also like to pay special tribute to Adam Lewis QC who led our case with Antonio Rigozzi, Jon Ellis and James Bonnington. It’s been very important that this has been worked through very professionally.
"Wayne has also agreed to support one day of a Uefa programme during the forthcoming period and we would expect him to do so while he’s on national team duty – so there will be no impact on his Manchester United time there as well.
"With regards to any further red card offences of a certain nature during the four-year period, that actually has an impact on whether he’s dismissed for England or his club as well, but the actual suspension penalty can only be applied to England.
"So we’re very grateful for the time we’ve been given by Uefa today. The commission considered everything. They listened to evidence from Wayne and from Fabio Capello as well and we’re pleased with the outcome.
"We’ve had a very fair hearing. Clearly it was very important that both Wayne and Fabio attended and obviously the outcome of Wayne being available for the third group game is a positive result for us."
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