Rooney's legal war for a web domain

England soccer star Wayne Rooney has decided to take television soap serial actor Huw Marshall to court to win ownership of the web domains WayneRooney.com. and WayneRooney.co.uk.
Thirty-seven-year-old Marshall had bought both domain names in April 2002, when Rooney was a 16-year-old rising star, and is now refusing to give them up.
According to The Sun, Rooney has taken the case to the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva.

Forgiveness or revenge?

England’s one striker Rooney finds himself challenged heavily by two Portuguese players. Instead of going to the floor to win a free kick, Rooney tries to stay on his feet, but in the melée, appears to stamp on the groin of Ricardo Carvalho. Cristiano Ronaldo then appears to implore the referee to take action against his United team-mate. Rooney is then sent off and the rest, as they say, is history.
Back home from Germany, Rooney broke his silence to plead his innocence: "I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my foot down on Ricardo Carvalho."
He added that he was "disappointed" with Ronaldo - who put pressure on the referee to send him off – but promised not to hold a grudge.
"When the referee produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked. I bear noill feeling to Cristiano (Ronaldo) but I am disappointed he chose to getinvolved. I suppose I do though have to remember on that particular occasion wewere not team-mates."
But teammates they are in Manchester and although Ronaldo has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, the question now is:What will happen if or when Rooney and Ronaldo return to United for pre-season training? Will they kiss and make up? Or will Rooney’s revenge be a dish served cold in training?

Rooney offers olive branch to Ronaldo

Sir Alex Ferguson's hopes of brokering a truce between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo have improved. Rooney has said he has forgiven his Manchester United team-mate for his role in the England striker's dismissal during the World Cup quarter-final defeat to Portugal.

Ronaldo's actions in encouraging Horacio Elizondo, the Argentine referee, to punish Rooney for his stamp on Ricardo Carvalho triggered speculation that pair's differences would be irreconcilable once they returned to their day jobs at Old Trafford.
But Rooney claimed that he extended an olive branch to the Portuguese immediately after England's ignominious exit, enhancing Ferguson's chances of persuading Ronaldo he has a future at United, despite the winger's apparent interest in a move to Real Madrid.
Rooney denied he had attempted to confront Ronaldo in the Portuguese dressing room after England had been defeated in a penalty shoot-out, and says he sent his United colleague a congratulatory text within hours of the final whistle.
"I was disappointed by Ronny [Ronaldo] trying to get me carded and I gave him a bit of a push in the chest," Rooney says in his autobiography My Story So Far. "But that was it. By the next morning I was no longer angry. It seemed that the papers were trying to stir it up, blaming him.
"They reported that, after the game, while I was still in our dressing room, I had tried to get into the Portuguese dressing room in order to hit Ronny. That's not true.
"On the way home after the game, I sent a text to Ronny. I told him to forget about what happened. Then I wished him and Portugal good luck in the semis and hoped they got to the final. And I meant it."
Faced with the prospect of building bridges between the two most talented members of his squad, United manager Ferguson will be grateful for Rooney's admission. It should go a long way towards dampening the antipathy felt towards the Portuguese in England.
Rooney is unrepentant about the incident that left Sven-Goran Eriksson's side with 10 men, claiming it was an accident.

World Cup: Striker Wayne Rooney fined, suspended

England striker Wayne Rooney was suspended for two competitive international matches and fined 5,000 Swiss francs (US$4,085) by a FIFA disciplinary panel that reviewed his ejection from England's World Cup quarter-final loss to Portugal.
Rooney was given a red card by referee Horacio Elizondo for stomping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho in the 62nd minute of the quarter-finals.
He denied it was intentional, saying he was "gobsmacked" by the charge, but a FIFA disciplinary committee on Saturday found him guilty of violent conduct. Rooney faced an automatic one-game suspension because of the straight red, but the committee doubled the punishment.
Rooney will be suspended for the first two of England's 12 qualifying matches for the 2008 European Championship. The short-tempered Manchester United forward has a history of ejections at the top level, dating back to December 2002 when -- aged 17 -- he was red-carded in a Premier League match for Everton.
England opens against Andorra (Sept. 2) and Macedonia (Sept. 6) -- the two lowest-ranked teams in a qualifying group also containing Croatia, Israel, Russia and Estonia.
"We believe the case has been dealt with fairly and we accept the decision," England's Football Association said in a statement. "We have no further comment to make."

Fancy a punch-up?

A south Cheshire boxing promoter is offering Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo the chance to settle their World Cup differences in the boxing ring - all for the good of charity!
Pat Brogan, who has more than 30 years' experience in the fight game, is offering the Manchester United team-mates - who clashed when Rooney was red-carded in the defeat to Portugal - £100,000 each to climb into the ring.
He said: 'That would be for four three-minute rounds in Manchester. They could wear 16oz gloves and headguards, so I'm sure neither would get seriously hurt.
'Friends of mine, Ryan Giggs and Max Beesley, are involved in a scan-ner appeal for a hospital, so they could have the proceeds.'
He claimed: 'It would do them good to settle their differences, shake hands afterwards and get on with it. It is the best way for them to sort it out, otherwise there will always be a bitterness between them.

Gary Neville said

The england team player, who is captain of Rooney and Ronaldo at United, said the England striker was heartbroken but would get over it.
"He is a colleague at club and international level and we hope the sending-off won't be as bad as it looks," he said.
"Whatever comes of it, and he is heartbroken, there will be people around him who will have been through it before.
"But tonight is not about about Wayne Rooney being sent off, it's about England being out of the World Cup."
It was a deja vu moment for England. It was leading 1-0 in the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Portugal when Rooney departed with a broken metatarsal, a game-turning injury in a match also lost on penalties.
Before the game Rooney had declared himself ready for anything Portugal's tough-tackling defence could throw at him, but it was the volatile 20-year-old who lost his head, plunging his team-mates into crisis.

Rooney red not my fault: Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has denied he got Wayne Rooney sent off in an incident that put his Manchester United colleague among an infamous group of England players to see red in the World Cup.
Rooney let his fiery temperament get the better of him just when he needed to keep his cool, stamping on Ricardo Carvalho's testicles in the 62nd minute with yesterday's (AEST) quarter-final against Portugal poised at 0-0.
He made the matter worse by shoving Ronaldo after the Portuguese winger waded in to protest with the referee.
A stunned Rooney, who joined David Beckham and Ray Wilkins as the only England players to be sent off at the finals, was eventually led off fuming.
Beckham was given his marching orders against Argentina in the second round in 1998 by Danish referee Kim Milton Neilsen, while Wilkins was sent off against Morocco in 1986.
Down to 10 men, England battled on but lost on penalties with Ronaldo hammering the final nail into its coffin by converting the final spot kick.
Ronaldo denied he encouraged the referee to give Rooney his marching orders.
"People will say that the referee gave the red card because I spoke with him; this is not true. I spoke with him to say it was a foul, but I only said it was a foul, not a red card," Ronaldo said.
"I think the English press will say Rooney was sent off because of me but it is not true."
Ronaldo was seen winking at his bench after the incident but refused to comment on why.

Finally out of the game

Rooney was given a straight red card for violent conduct, for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho after a 50-50 tussle for the ball in the 62nd minute, the decision bringing into sharper focus England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson’s decision to select only four strikers in his squad.

Rooney, playing as England's lone striker, was shown a red card after Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo ruled the Manchester United player deliberately stamped on Ricardo Carvalho's groin. Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney's club teammate, rushed to confront the referee after the foul.

England had the better chances in the second half in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, as Frank Lampard and Joe Cole blazed over the bar from inside the penalty area. England also had an appeal for a spot kick turned down in the 50th minute when Beckham chipped the ball against Nuno Valente's hand.
It was Beckham's last contribution as he was substituted for the 19-year-old Aaron Lennon. Moments later Beckham was in tears in the dugout feeling his right leg.
Portugal captain Luis Figo forced a diving save from goalkeeper Paul Robinson then, with eight minutes remaining, Lennon shot straight at Ricardo after the goalkeeper parried Lampard's free kick. In stoppage-time Terry's shot was deflected over the bar from the first of two late England corners.