VIDEO: Remember This Rooney Three Match Ban, FA?

In the summer of 2006, Wayne Rooney was sent off during the pre-season Amsterdam Tournament for an innocuous challenge on Pepe, as both players jumped for the ball. It was only a couple of months earlier that Rooney had been sent off against Portugal in the World Cup and Pepe was prepared to use this to his advantage.

The FA decided to ban Rooney for three league games because of this, as well as banning Scholes for his red card, despite an appeal from the player. Steven Gerrard and Neil Mellor were sent off in the same tournament just a few years earlier but faced no ban, whilst several other players have been sent off in pre-season friendlies since and also not been banned by the FA.

This isn’t the only time we’ve seen the FA give Rooney ridiculous punishments, as we’ve already discussed on here, the FA banned Rooney for two games for swearing last season. Despite an apology, the FA stuck to their guns and Rooney missed the FA Cup semi-final.

The FA are now pondering whether to appeal UEFA’s decision to ban Rooney for three games which, as it stands, means he would miss the group stages for England in Euro 2012.

“Further to UEFA’s decision to impose a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney, the FA await the full reasons and will give full consideration to the decision internally before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public comment,” said an FA statement.

Whilst it is likely that UEFA will reduce Rooney’s ban to two games, they would surely be well within their rights to look at the FA’s previous rulings where this player is concerned and give him at least a three match ban.

The FA insist on supporting Rooney which is great to hear. I wonder how many games they will ban him for the next time he picks his nose or farts… when wearing the red of United, of course.