Soccer: Alex Ferguson has no intention of having one last word with Wayne Rooney to ensure his star striker's Champions League dream does not end in the shattering disappointment of suspension.

Rooney is one of three Manchester United players - Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez are the others - who go into tonight's Champions League semi-final second-leg with Arsenal knowing a caution will rule them out of the final should the Red Devils reach Rome on May 27th.

Under the circumstances, and given the red mist periodically descends on Rooney to get him in disciplinary trouble, Ferguson might be forgiven for having a quiet chat with the England striker.

Instead, Ferguson will trust Rooney to play his usual game, while making sure he stays on the right side of Italian referee Roberto Rosetti at the Emirates Stadium.

"I don't need to address it with Wayne," said Ferguson. "He knows the circumstances. I don't need to spell it out to him.

"He is a mature young man. He understands it perfectly well. He needs to be disciplined but most of the time he is that way."

Indeed, Ferguson believes Rosetti will handle the contest sympathetically, knowing one waft of his yellow card could condemn someone to suffer the kind of misery experienced by Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in 1999, when both were forced to watch from the stands as United overcame Bayern Munich in dramatic fashion.

"I have noticed a trend of the referees being very professional and tolerant in situations like this," said Ferguson.

"They know the seriousness of a player getting three bookings in the whole tournament and missing the final because of it.

"This guy is an Italian and is well up to handling the situation. Obviously if a player steps out of line there are definitely no excuses."