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."