Wayne Rooney marred an otherwise impressive performance
in Manchester United's Champions League draw against
Villarreal by trying to hoodwink the referee into a awarding a
phantom penalty.
Under pressure from Fabricio Fuentes, the England striker took a
tumble in the box and was lucky not to receive a yellow card for
his troubles.
The normally robust 22-year-old's fans would be disappointed by
his actions, and he was suitably remorseful after the
game.
Sir Alex Ferguson told The Sun: “It is uncharacteristic
of Wayne. He thought he was going to be tackled and made the most
of it. But he has seen it again and apologised to me.”
Former Arsenal star Robert Pires was in the Villarreal
ranks, and Ferguson didn't waste the opportunity to have a dig at
the Frenchman.
The United boss said: “You don’t usually see it from him
(Rooney). Maybe he had been watching Robert Pires too much. At
least he said sorry. You would not hear Pires saying that, bloody
hell!”
Another player who spent plenty of time kissing the grass at El
Madrigal was Cristiano Ronaldo, the Red Devils' star winger.
The Portuguese international was perhaps United's most
influential player despite being marked especially closely by
Manuel Pellegrini's side.
Ferguson added: “There is systematic fouling of Ronaldo. It is a
tactic.
“One player fouls him, then another player and then someone
else. Eventually the ref thinks he is diving all the time.”