Rooney outburst 'normal' - Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand played down the expletive-filled outburst of England and Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney in Belfast as “part and parcel of the game”.

Rooney was seen to swear at England skipper David Beckham as the Real Madrid star tried to calm him down after he was booked for leading with an arm in an aerial challenge.

The 19-year-old then did the same to Ferdinand as the defender sought to defuse the tension at half-time, but the former West Ham and Leeds centre-back insisted it was not a sign of any bad blood between the two.

“What Wayne did is part and parcel of football,” Ferdinand told The Sun.

“He has told me to **** off many a time and I’ve said the same back to him. We’ll probably do it again on Saturday.

“The day we don’t tell each other to **** off will be the time to worry because it will mean we don’t care. It’s a normal thing in football, it goes on all the time.

“Players don’t take it as an insult, it’s just heat of the moment.”

Rooney’s manager at club level, Sir Alex Ferguson, also defended the striker and does not want him to change his ways.

“I would rather have a player who showed a lot of heart for the struggle than one who didn’t,” he said.

“If the lad hadn’t shown that much heart, people would have been criticising him for not caring. It’s not on. Do England want players who don’t mind losing?

“That’s their choice. If they do, then fine – we’ll keep him here for a few extra training sessions.”