Were UEFA right to reduce Wayne Rooney’s ban?

European Footballs governing body UEFA have decided to reduce Wayne Rooney’s ban from three games to two after the English FA made an appeal against the length of the ban.

It might come as a surprise to a lot of people that the ban was reduced considering it probably wouldn’t have been reduced in the Premier League.

Guilty

Wayne Rooney was guilty of assaulting a Montenegrin defender, when he kicked out at the player during England’s draw in European Championship qualifiers. The Manchester United striker was guilty of the offence, and nobody was arguing that.

However I am just wondering on what grounds the FA asked the ban to be reduced? He committed an offence which carries an automatic three game ban and I don’t know how the FA could appeal the ban. It doesn’t matter that he apologised or went off the pitch nicely, he still committed violent conduct.

Wrong

I’m a Englishman and a England fan of course but I think Fifa reducing the ban is the wrong decision. I obviously want England to have a better chance of doing well in the European Championships and they do with Rooney in the team.

However Rooney lost control and got what he deserved, a red card and a three match ban. What sort of signal does the ban reduction send out to other players? The sort of signal that suggests if you kick somebody and you admit it you won’t get a three match ban if you appeal.

It seemed that Rooney was maturing slightly before that incident but obviously not. He has to learn to control his temper. It’s true that’s its his passion and heart that fuels his game but if he still needs to reign in his temper.

Wayne Rooney and the English FA should have just accepted that Rooney was banned and got on with it. Instead they made a whole meal out of the situation and got a one game reduction in his ban.

Hypocrites

It strikes me as a bit hypocritical that the FA have appealed this ban, yet they were the same people who banned the United striker for swearing at a camera. Now all of a sudden they are looking after Rooney like he’s their love child.

The English FA seem to enjoy conducting witch hunts against players in the Premier League but if anybody else tries it they get annoyed. It’s almost like when you call your wife a fat cow its fine but if somebody else does it you get annoyed.

Chances

As a fan of England this is good news and is only likely to make us have a better chance of progressing into the knockout stages of the European Championships. However with or without Wayne Rooney I don’t think that we have a chance of success in next years tournament.

Wayne Rooney is undoubtedly the most talented player England have available but he isn’t in the best of form. If his form recovers then he could be a vital player for Fabio Capello’s team. Whether he should be playing in that crucial third game of the group is debatable.

One thing that is guaranteed is that if he is fit he will playing and could have a major hand in England getting into the knockout stages of the European Championships, rightly or wrongly.

Are Fifa right to reduce Wayne Rooney’s ban from three games to two?