Rooney may face two-game Uefa ban

WAYNE ROONEY could be banned from Manchester United's next two Champions League matches should Uefa open a disciplinary hearing into his apparent stamp on an Aalborg player.

Uefa confirmed last night it was investigating the incident that led to Kasper Risgard complaining of Rooney "jumping on my chest" and showing off a long, red mark where the studs had connected.

Risgard said that Rooney had apologised after the match, which implies a certain element of guilt on the part of a striker who was sent off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho in England's World Cup quarter-final against Portugal.

"The normal procedure is that we look at the reports from the referee and the match delegate and decide whether to open a disciplinary case," said the Uefa spokesman Rob Faulkner.

"If it's seen to be blatant, if we decide it's a case of serious foul play and the referee has completely missed it, it will be considered by our disciplinary committee."

Rooney clashed with Risgard 41 minutes into a fractious 2-2 draw in which he was also involved in two more off-the-ball clashes, raking his studs down Michael Jakobsen's lower leg early in the second half and tangling with the Danish team's captain, Thomas Augustinussen, leading to a reprimand from the French referee Laurent Duhamel.

The official confirmed in his match report that he did not see the incident involving Risgard.

The next meeting of Uefa's control and disciplinary body is on February 13th and, if Rooney is charged, he can expect the same two-match ban that was handed out to Michael Essien after his dangerous tackle on Dietmar Hamann when Chelsea played Liverpool in the Champions League's group stage in December 2005.

Three years earlier Alan Shearer was also banned for two games after Uefa acted on video evidence of him clashing with Fabio Cannavaro during a 4-1 defeat for Newcastle United against Internazionale.

"There have been cases where something that has been missed by the referee has later been seen as serious foul play and resulted in a suspension for the player," said Faulkner.

The United manager, Alex Ferguson, defended Rooney immediately after the match but is aware now that he might be without the England striker in both legs of the first knockout round.

United could be pitted against, among others, Real Madrid or Internazionale when the draw is made next Friday and Rooney's absence would be a significant setback.

The player's conduct led to criticism not just from Risgard but also Aalborg's coach, Allan Kuhn, who described it as a deliberate act.

"It's a pity that a fantastic footballer like Wayne Rooney, every time he gets emotional, does stupid things," he said.

"My guys were saying he was very angry all through the game. If we see that he has done it on purpose, then of course [Uefa should take action]."

Marek Saganowski, who is on loan to the club from Southampton, was asked whether he could understand why Rooney was angry.

"Rooney is always angry," he replied. "When I see him in the Premier League he is always angry."

The issue overshadowed an otherwise satisfying day for Ferguson, who is expected to confirm today that Edwin van der Sar will continue as the club's goalkeeper next season.

Van der Sar was 38 in October but plans to put off retirement to sign a one-year contract extension.

Ferguson, spent yesterday showing two Partizan Belgrade players, Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic, around the club's training ground.

Tosic, a 21-year-old left-winger, will join him in January and spoke in Manchester of "my big feeling of pride".

"I'm signing for the biggest club in the world, which is my favourite from my early years," he added. "My goal is to continue to progress as a footballer and I want to show Manchester United that my transfer wasn't a bad thing."

Ljajic, a 17-year-old right-sided midfielder, is likely to remain at Partizan until the end of the season, but an agreement is in place for him to become the third Serbian on the club's payroll, Nemanja Vidic being the other.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have sent a clear message to their players after rejecting speculation that Brazilian defender Alex has slapped in a transfer request.

The defender claimed he had told Chelsea earlier this week that he wanted to leave Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window.

But Chelsea have made it clear that none of their players will be allowed to move on until they decide it is right for the club.

A statement from the club read: "Chelsea would like to make clear that no transfer request has been received from any player. Chelsea will decide the future of any contracted player in the best interests of the club."

AC Milan and Seville have already expressed an interest in the £10 million-rated defender, who is believed to be frustrated by his lack of first-team involvement at the club.