Wayne Rooney will sit out the Manchester derby next
Sunday after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at
Tottenham.
The United striker was cautioned in the second half
of Saturday's 1-1 draw for an ill-advised dive in the box
under a challenge from Michael Dawson.
He was one of 10 players who went into referee Mark
Clattenburg's notebook in a lively game, in which Carlos Tevez
rescued a point for the Reds with a last-gasp equaliser.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had no qualms about Rooney's
booking but claimed Clattenburg should have dismissed Spurs
midfielder Tom Huddlestone for a similar incident.
"If the referee deems Rooney has dived, then he's right to book
him," Ferguson told MUTV.
"But a few minutes later Huddlestone dived. He had already
been booked but the referee did nothing about it. So you've
got to say, is that fair?"
Rooney will be joined in the stands next Sunday by mercurial
City midfielder Elano, who also received his fifth booking of the
campaign in the Blues' 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal.
23/09/07 United 2-0 Chelsea
06/10/07 United 4-0 Wigan
23/12/07 United 2-1 Everton
12/01/08 United 6-0 Newcastle
02/02/08 Tottenham 1-1 United
Rooney's yellow card against Spurs was the first time he has
been booked away from home this season.
