Eriksson was 'baffled' by Rooney stamp, says ref

Koen Freriks

1 augustus 2006, 14:19

The referee who sent off Wayne Rooney during England's World Cup quarter-final defeat by Portugal claims Sven-Goran Eriksson was baffled by the striker's stamp on opponent Ricardo Carvalho.

Horacio Elizondo controversially dismissed Rooney in the second half for violent conduct in Germany.

And the Argentinean referee, who also took charge of the final between Italy and France in which Zinedine Zidane was sent off, told FourFourTwo magazine England boss Eriksson came to see him after the match in Gelsenkirchen.

"Even though England had been knocked out, he wanted to congratulate us," said Elizondo. "I really appreciated that.

"We chatted for a few seconds and he mentioned the red card. 'Rooney stamped on him, didn't he?' he asked. I nodded. 'I can't understand how a professional player can react like that,' he told me. Then he left."