Soccer:Fabio Capello will wait for Uefa to rule on the punishment for Wayne Rooney's dismissal in Montenegro last night before assessing the extent of the damage done to England's Euro 2012 hopes.
Capello agreed the 25-year-old deserved to be shown red by German referee Wolfgang Stark 17 minutes from the end of a 2-2 draw following a blatant kick at Miodrag Dzudovic.
Rooney’s over-the-top reaction to losing possession raised familiar question marks over his temperament, which seemed to have been under control since his four-letter rant into a TV camera at West Ham last season.
Now England are faced with the problem of knowing their striking talisman will miss at least the first group game at next summer’s tournament — and possibly more.
And there is the heightened possibility of opponents attempting to wind up the Manchester United man in the games he does play, even if Capello tried to put a positive gloss on the situation.
“It will be a good lesson for him,” said the Italian. “We have to play three games at the start next year. I don’t know how many he will miss. One, maybe two but I hope not. Really, it is too early to speak about it.”
As Uefa will presumably deal with all disciplinary matters arising from this week’s games prior to the November play-offs, Capello will know by the time his squad gather for a high-profile friendly against Spain exactly how long Rooney will be absent.
The major concern though is that for all the psychological advancements Rooney has made down the years, he remains capable of moments when it is hard to understand what is going through his mind beyond an obvious sense of frustration.
Given his overall demeanour, it is difficult to put last night’s events solely down to the stress he must have felt over the arrest of his father Wayne Snr on Thursday in a police investigation into alleged betting allegations. The 48-year-old has denied any wrongdoing.
“Guys, I can’t enter Wayne Rooney’s head,” said Capello, with more than a hint of exasperation. “I can speak before. I can substitute him. I can find different solutions. But, during a game, you cannot understand the reaction of the players or why things happen. And I am not just talking about Wayne Rooney.”
