SUNDAY TIMES:
Talking of the clattering challenge on Keith Gillespie that led to Rooney’s booking and subsequent outbursts, Eriksson said: "He is that kind of player, always playing on the edge of everything. This was a stupid challenge, of course it was, and he could even have been sent off for that.
"Unfortunately, for him and the rest of the team, after this accident we lost our spirit totally. I am sorry to say, but that is one of the reasons we lost the game."
The first sign that morale was breaking down came after 41 minutes, when Rooney was booked for a dangerous challenge on Gillespie and reacted by abusing Massimo Busacca, the Swiss referee. Spotting that Rooney was in danger of being sent off for dissent, Beckham, his captain, urged him to calm down, only to be told to "f*** off".
Rooney was clearly still at boiling point when the whistle signalled half-time, and Rio Ferdinand, his United teammate, asked him what was wrong. He, too, was told to "f*** off", and the row continued in the dressing room. Beckham told Rooney his behaviour had been "out of order", but no apology was forthcoming — just the opposite. "Get stuffed," was the 19-year-old Scouser’s response, whereupon both players had to be restrained by Ferdinand and England’s assistant coach Steve McClaren.
At the insistence of McClaren and Eriksson, the two players shook hands on the pitch at the start of the second half, but Rooney was distracted and visibly unhappy for the rest of the match.
There was more ill-feeling straight after the game, when the teenager is said to have "lost it again" by responding with verbal abuse after McClaren had read the riot act.
MORE IN THE TIMES:
The captain is not a tackler. He was hustled and harried out of the game by Aston Villa’s Steve Davis and Damien Johnson of Birmingham in midweek and his long, showboating passes will be read and easily cut out by better teams than the Welsh. He is no holding player, or quarterback, and the sooner he gets back to his optimum position, wide on the right, the better.
So will he? There’s the rub. For a long time now Eriksson has allowed his celebrity captain to have an undue influence on just about everything, from where England stay to team selection and tactics. The unavoidable impression is that whatever Becks wants, Becks gets, and that the coach is too weak to gainsay him.
According to well-placed sources within Camp David, this belief was at the root of Rooney’s obnoxious behaviour on Wednesday night, when he told his captain and Rio Ferdinand to "**** off." The red mist descended after 41 minutes, when Rooney was booked for recklessly leading with an arm in an aerial challenge on Keith Gillespie.
He reacted to the yellow card with a stream of abuse at the referee, and when Beckham tried to calm him down, he was told where to go. As the players left the pitch at half-time, Ferdinand asked his Manchester United teammate what was wrong; he too was told to "**** off". The row continued in the dressing room at the interval, when Beckham said Rooney had been "out or order" and was told to "get stuffed ". The two players squared up and had to be separated by Ferdinand and others before order was restored by Eriksson’s assistant coach, Steve McClaren. At his insistence, Beckham and Rooney shook hands on the pitch at the start of the second half, in a public show of reconciliation, but Rooney "lost it" again after the match, when he objected to a rebuke from McClaren.
Witnesses present interpreted Rooney’s attitude towards Beckham as "You’re the reason I’m stuck out on the left wing", and a high-profile club manager, who was privy to the United striker’s thoughts, said: "He no more wanted to be out there than he wanted to be the man on the moon."
NEWS OF THE WORLD:
Foul-mouthed Wayne Rooney launched a furious f-word dressing room tirade at skipper David Beckham and coach Steve McClaren during England's humiliating World Cup defeat against Northern Ireland.
Stunned England players had to separate Rooney and Beckham as the two ranted at each other at half-time.
And as McClaren tried to calm Rooney down, the Manchester United striker yelled: "Fuck off, you c***!" a senior England player revealed: "Wayne started effing and blinding and Becks snapped. The pair had to be pulled apart before it came to blows. Steve McClaren tried to calm things down, but Wayne told him to eff off, too. Wayne only calmed down when Sven arrived."
Rooney swore at Rio Ferdinand and Beckham on the pitch as they tried to console him following his booking for a crude elbow on Keith Gillespie during England's 1-0 qualifying defeat in Belfast. But Rooney thought Beckham was showing off and sparked the half-time row by accusing him of being a "flash bastard."
And Eriksson blamed Rooney for the defeat. The manager stormed: "Rooney made a stupid challenge and could have been sent off. That is one of the reasons we lost the game."