Wayne Rooney faces FA reprimand after calling for referee to be ‘BANNED and FINED’

Wayne Rooney is facing an FA sanction after an extraordinary outburst in which he called for a referee to be ‘banned’ over a controversial penalty decision.

The Derby boss was speaking in the aftermath of his team’s 2-1 away defeat by Swansea, which has plunged the club’s Championship survival into doubt. 

The Rams are second-bottom in the league and nine points from safety with just five matches remaining.

That Derby are even in with a chance of survival is remarkable given Rooney and his players were handed a 21-point deduction this season for entering administration and historical financial breaches.

But Rooney lost his cool over what he believes was a blatant penalty denied to Derby in the late stages of the Swansea match when his side were desperately chasing an equaliser.

Derby substitute Bartosz Cybulski was clattered into in the box while competing for a rebound, and the Rams players all appealed. Referee Tim Robinson, however, was unmoved, despite the protestations of a furious Rooney on the touchline. 

The Derby boss did not hide his disgust when speaking in his post-match press conference. 

‘I think everyone in the stadium agrees (it was a penalty), the Swansea manager, the Swansea staff, the Swansea fans, Derby players, staff, fans, everyone saw it was a clear penalty apart from the four officials,’ Rooney said.

‘I have said it time and time again. I understand it is difficult to give it when it is a tight one.

‘When it is a clear obvious foul and penalty it leaves a lot of questions I have to ask the officials. I hope the referee gets banned and fined because that is not good enough.’

Rooney’s ire went beyond just Robinson, with the ex-England captain slamming football officiating in general by suggesting that even a VAR review would not have come to the conclusion that the incident was a penalty. 

He also referenced that Derby had enough difficulties to manage with the points deduction and financial uncertainty without being, in his eyes, hampered by poor officiating. 

‘We have got a good, young, honest group of players who are working every day to try and help this club to try and get through the difficulties it is going through,’ Rooney said.

‘We have got a young player (Cybulski) playing his second game as a sub, he has got an opportunity to score and is wrestled to the ground and the officials don’t see it. It is crazy.

‘You can ask what do we do, do you get VAR in but the officials are looking at VAR on the screen and they are still getting decisions wrong. So I don’t know where we go.’