Foul-mouthed Rooney set to be hit with two game ban

MANCHESTER UNITED striker Wayne Rooney is set to miss the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on April 16 after being charged by the FA for his foul-mouthed on-camera tirade at the weekend.

Rooney swore into a television camera moments after completing a hat-trick against West Ham on Saturday, and the FA confirmed last night he had been charged with “use of offensive, insulting and/or abusive language” in relation to the incident.

The charge carries a two-match ban if it is accepted, and Rooney has torespond by 6pm today. Unless the 25-year-old can successfully plead that the punishment has been too severe, he will serve a two-match suspension, starting with Saturday’s Premier League encounter with Fulham at Old Trafford and concluding with that eagerly-anticipated Manchester derby at Wembley for the right to meet Bolton or Stoke in next month’s FA Cup final.