Sat July 1, 4:49 PM ET
GELSENKIRCHEN (Reuters) - Mystery surrounded the dismissal of England striker Wayne Rooney in Saturday's quarter-final loss to
Portugal with senior FIFA officials unsure why Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo showed him the red card. FIFA officials were surprised by the sending off and said they had not yet been informed of the reason by the referee. The England forward appeared to be pulled back by Carvalho while at the same time Figo wrapped his legs around Rooney who then seemed to tread on his opponent's groin as he tried to disentangle his leg, but with no malicious intent. Carvalho's reaction prompted Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo to sprint some 40 meters to the referee, apparently to demand a card against Rooney who pushed him and was sent off. Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking toward the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off the pitch.
And that's about it. With that, England hold out for a goaless draw after extra time and lose the penalty shoot out. Only man-of-the-match Owen
Hargraves scored as the freakish Portugal goalie saving all other attempts. Its quite a shame because Brazil later lose to France 1-0 and a England vs France semi-final would have been optimal. This truly was England's best chance of going all the way. I don't know how else to explain these strange events, my take on this is gambling is a billion dollar industry and the bookies rule the world. What's a couple of million to them to pay off the officials? Wouldn't you send off Rooney for a million bucks on a half ass excuse knowing full well that referees don't have to explain their actions? Winner?.... bookies... loser.?...... everybody else.
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