I'm not a Rooney fan at all (go Arsenal!), and while I think it was right for him to be red-carded, I think the 3 game suspension is overboard. Rooney is an immature thug (I can call him that since he's not black), and this is not out of character for him (unlike Zidane), so maybe there's a repeat offender thing kicking in here?

Part of the problem is the horrible acting in soccer. He got frustrated and kicked a guy in the leg. That's deserving of a red card, and probably a 1 game ban (red card = automatic 1 game ban, right). But we all know (except for maybe soccer officials) that it didn't hurt nearly as much as the player pretended that it did. The kick was out of frustration, not malice, and it wasn't that bad of a kick.

You know the acting is bad, if it makes the WWE look like good acting. It almost even makes the New York Giants look like good actors. Almost.

What do you guys think of the suspension? Too long, or appropriate? Or does his history warrant an even longer suspension?

Rooney...no idea who that nub is. Which clan is he in?

a straight red card for violent conduct guarantees a 3 games suspension anytime anywhere in the footballing world.

And history means nothing.

Btw, Rooney plays in LaF.

If you kicked someone like that in the street you would expect a visit from the police.

I don't know how long you've ben watching football, but a straight red card has never been a 1 match ban. Typically, two yellows then a red = 1 game ban

It's soccer for Christ's sake

It's FOOTBALL.

In international's red cards are generally a one or two match ban depending on severity, it takes a panel to increase to a three or more match ban.

Imo it will be reduced to two games on appeal, which would be fair. He's an idiot, but to be banned for the whole group phases of the euro's isnt a proportionate punishment.

i think they made is 3 games, because it wasn't something like a bad tackle, it was just him lashing out at someone.

it's one thing to make a bad tackle, but it's really something else to just kick someone. i imagine it to be along the lines of song's stamp on barton (newcastle vs arsenal), which got him a 3 game ban, even though it wasn't seen by the referee during the match.

i think on appeal it could go down to 2 games instead of 3, but in all honesty what does it matter? england are fluff.

As soon as he did it you could see that he realised his mistake before he could pull out (wahaay), apologised immediately and didn't contest the red card. Still a thug, but an improvement on his usual self.

They say that by giving out a three match ban it will be a deterrent against this kind of action. To me it shows that Rooney should have gone in harder (wahaay) and acted like a wanker while being dismissed, because he would have still got the three match ban and probably a useless fine in addition. Two matches would have been fair and maybe that is what it will be on appeal. However, knowing UEFA and FIFA it will probably be increased to four due to their hatred of the English. Rooney's just lucky he doesn't play for Chelsea or he'd have been banned for three tournaments.

Wasnt it Roy Keane that used to use the old saying "you may as well get hung for a sheep as a lamb". If you're gonna do go out to do someone, do it with conviction.

The clip of Rooney's "kick" is getting televised pretty hard in the US .. and the guy's whiny overreaction is not helping any steriotypes. What the fluff happened to this sport? Officials need to start carding more freely for embellishing

did he flop/dive too obviously?

No matter how easily someone went down, any violent acts need to be dealt with harshly. There have been too many people with severe injuries due to reckless, and downright violent actions in the past few years. Look at Dejongs tackle on Ben Arfa last year for a perfect example.

hear him, hear him!!

In 3 games, Rooney will enter the field with a baseball bat, and we'll see who'll be laughing then!

Dzdudovic did a pretty horrible acting job pretending like he had gotten shot in the leg. You can find it on youtube, and probably a few other sites as well.

In my discussions with my fellow yanks, we are universally in agreement that the acting is the main reason that futball will never be popular in the US.

American football fans expect guys to jog a lap and get back in the game after breaking their leg. Intentionally acting like a fluff? That will win over Steelers fans . . .

That isnt the reason, otherwise americans would be all over rugby (which at the highest level is as good/better than football anyway).

Americans just bum sports that they are supposedly good at, anything they arnt they dont care for.

England suck at everything almost equally, so cant say that about england.

Run a lap? They run like 10 yards then have a 5minute break. Its a horrible sport, even half the professionals you see on TV are unfit fatties.

The Rooney subject, as a Man Utd fan, I embrace this ban. If he were to come out and say he would never play an international game again it would make my day. I gave up supporting England with any real passion last year.

Let's not talk about playing handball here...

Amerifluff FOOTlolball talk in a thread about real football is just lame. Please create your own thread.

Thomas, stfu. Rooney ftw! /me goes off to join LaF

o.O

Say what you want about american football but those guys are pure athletes. Have you ever seen an NFL running back work out? Watch AP's workout sometime. And yeah linemen have fat on them because they need the weight, but I guarantee most nfl linemen could run a 40 faster than any of you guys.

I've played soccer my whole life, but you can't downplay the physical prowess of pro footballers

I very much hate rooney, but all bias aside this is just an example of (lol) someone being made an example of. You cant just kick someone in the football world, that is the kind of fluff that will start a riot on the international stage, and its a cheap shot by a chump. He deserves a 3 game ban and I bet he learns his lesson.

as for american football, its a different type of athlete, they train no less than any others in order to be those fatties that cannot be moved. I am a fan of both sports and they both have their pros and cons. until "soccer" players stop acting like pussiess americans probably wont enjoy it. Until "football" cuts the commercials and all the penalties and BS that slows down the game, euro's probably wont like it either.

20 years ago you'd get booked in England for not assaulting the other team.

with or without Rooney, England are doomed to fluff up.

Rooney is that good of a player that he can win games by himself. So to imply that he wouldnt make a difference suggests that you don't know much about Rooney or Football.

Rooney is such a chav, he needed to grow up a long time ago.. or at least 2 world cups ago.

Its a different type of body type that is all... american footballers wouldnt have the stamina to play football or rugby, because they carry too much weight. They are either built like 100m sprinters or olympic weightlifters. Which serve a purpose in american football, but would be completely useless in a sport where stamina is a factor.

oh he had it coming. 3 games aint that much considering he got away from atleast 2 years of supensions from other bad things he done.