Shearer: Youngster Rooney Should Apologise

By Matthew Jones
November 20 2004

Following Englands 'friendly' in Spain on Wednesday night, Alan Shearer has urged Wayne Rooney to apologise for his behaviour. The youngster was booked for a push on Spanish keeper Iker Cassias and had to be substituted before he got himself sent off.

The Newcastle United striker and former England captain said:

"Wayne will get criticised but he will have to realise that not everything will always be rosy in the garden.

"You will not always get your own way on the pitch and when you don't you have to keep your cool, your discipline.

"He is a great player with great ability. He does push people around, bully them, but he should do it in a good way. He was petty but the saving grace is that he is young.

"It will be a bigger problem if he does not learn from his mistakes. He has to hold his hands up and say, 'I was wrong, I apologise', and learn from it.

"He will learn the hard way. The problem was he was not getting a kick in the game and he wants the ball all the time. They weren't allowing him a kick. He was not playing well and he was frustrated and angry and he showed his dissent in the wrong way."