ROONEY DECISION DELAYED

On Thursday, UEFA's Disciplinary and Control Body met to determine the fate of England's top striker Wayne Rooney after he was given a red card for kicking out at Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovic. Unfortunately, some two weeks later, the Football Association, Manchester United, Rooney and the legion of fans are still waiting for an in-depth explanation on why the UEFA handed down a 3 game suspension. According to an October 26th report by ESPNSoccerNet, the UEFA made the following official statement about providing an explanation:

''Due to the urgency of disciplinary cases connected to the UEFA EURO 2012 play-off matches, we will deal with sending the full reasoned decision on Wayne Rooney to the FA in due course.''

Until the UEFA provides a thorough explanation, the Football Association has to wait to appeal the 3 game ban of Rooney. Wayne's suspension will cause him to miss the entire group stage of the Euro 2012, which means that Wayne could potentially not play at all in this event if England doesn't make it to the quarterfinals.

The UEFA's official explanation for the ban is not expected for at least another week. A representative of the Football Association confirmed this with the following official statement: "The FA has today been advised by UEFA that we may not be provided with the written reasons regarding Wayne Rooney's three match suspension for another week at a minimum."

Rooney received a red card in England's final Group G game, on Friday October 7th, which ended in a 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica. The UEFA felt that Rooney attempted to assault Dzudovic which led to the 3 game ban. UEFA rules specifically state the following: "suspension for three competition matches or for a specified period for assaulting another player or other person present at the match".