Football
Arindam Rej, Man United Correspondent 7y

Gary Neville: Wayne Rooney should not have apologised for his night out

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney should not have apologised for his behaviour during the international break, his former teammate Gary Neville has said.

Rooney was photographed allegedly drinking late into the night at a wedding and issued an apology that said the images were "inappropriate for someone in his position."

The Football Association has said it will be conducting a "proper investigation" into reports that members of England's backroom staff had been with him.

No decision will be made on whether Rooney retains the national team captaincy until after a new permanent manager is appointed, a source has told ESPN FC.

But ex-United and England defender Neville tweeted: "It's embarrassing. Wayne Rooney shouldn't have apologised. Or, if he did, his fellow teammates should have been with him!"

Neville voiced agreement with a tweet from former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, who wrote: "So what if the England staff were drinking with Wayne Rooney. It would worry me if they weren't. This story is pathetic."

He responded: "Exactly, and maybe the ones that were with him shouldn't have let him take all the c--- on his own."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche said he felt the incident exposed "double standards" in how footballers were judged compared to others.

The Daily Mail quoted him as saying: "I haven't heard the story from the family whose wedding it was -- I'd be interested in that because I'd be amazed if they didn't say it was fantastic he agreed to come in. I don't know, I might have that wrong.

"I know footballers are fair game now. Weirdly, it always gets linked back to money, which I never understand.

"If you want to talk about money and maniacs, let's talk about hedge fund managers and how they live their lives. I find it all a bit like double standards.

"What I would say is that, after this, fans maybe understand why players pull away from situations and keep themselves to themselves.

"They're not trying to be ignorant, but are fearful of someone making a big story out of what used to be quite normal."

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