Wayne Rooney's plea of innocence over his red card will be backed by the English Football Association.

The FA will write to Fifa, stressing that Rooney did not mean to stamp on Ricardo Carvalho during Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against Portugal.

There will not, however, be any written apology from the player or the FA.

Fifa's disciplinary chiefs will consider England's version of events before imposing Rooney's punishment.

He can expect a fine and a suspension which will force him to miss the start of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

Neither match referee Horacio Elizondo or Fifa have explained if the red card was for the boot on Carvalho or the subsequent push on Ronaldo - simply that it was for "violent conduct".

England's departing boss Sven-Goran Eriksson said the Argentinian referee had told him after the match that it was for kicking Carvalho's groin.

The FA also want Fifa to take into account the rough treatment Rooney was getting from several Portugal players in the seconds before the flashpoint.

Whether these mitigating circumstances are enough for Rooney to escape with a relatively light ban remain to be seen.

England would settle for a two-match ban but anything more than three would seem excessive.  Agencies