Whelan: FA are too scared of Utd

Posted Wednesday, March 02, 2011 by thesun.co.uk

WAYNE ROONEY escaped punishment for elbowing a player in the face because the FA are scared of Manchester United.

That was Wigan owner Dave Whelan's furious reaction yesterday after The Sun told him Rooney will NOT be banned - despite TV footage that clearly showed him assaulting midfielder James McCarthy.

Whelan fumed: "It sends out a terrible message."

Disgraced Chelsea defender Ashley Cole also got an all-clear, with Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti dubbing him a 'great professional' - even though he shot a work experience kid with an air rifle.

But it was the FA's spineless treatment of last Saturday's Rooney incident that enraged Whelan.

He blasted: "Something is wrong when a top international like Rooney is seen doing something like this, as clear as day, and is allowed to get away without being punished.

"If it was any other club or player, you can bet your life he would have been sent off. But officials seem intimidated by the words 'Rooney' and 'United'.

"Manchester United are allowed to get away with things the rest of us get pulled up for. And you can't have one set of rules for one club and another for the rest.

"I don't care what the FA say about the matter being dealt with at the time by us getting a free-kick. They, and everyone else in football, know justice isn't being served here.

"The FA will be delighted they can hide behind their rules and let Rooney off, as they are frightened of taking sanctions against him and his club."

The FA claim they cannot act because referee Mark Clattenburg felt he took the 'appropriate action' by awarding a free-kick.

Yet he did not even book Rooney for his assault. Now the England striker can play at Chelsea tonight instead of serving a three-match ban.

Whelan, holidaying in the Caribbean, watched the DW Stadium action live on TV.

He added: "This is another case of people backing away from reacting to a blatant Rooney elbow.

"In my view, Mark Clattenburg is one of our better referees and maybe he did not see how bad it was.

"But can you honestly tell me the other three officials couldn't see that it was a stonewall sending off?

"If it had been the other way round, and James had whacked Rooney, there's no doubt in my mind he would have been shown a red card.

Rooney is also very lucky because of the way our lad reacted.

"If he had gone down, as most do these days for far less, that might have forced the ref to take the proper action."

Clattenburg looks set to join Rooney in escaping any backlash.

He was expected to be given a weekend off or demoted down the leagues but, in fact, has been pencilled in to take charge of Fulham v Birmingham on Saturday afternoon.

Referees chief Mike Riley insisted: "Mark took the correct course of action with this incident."