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Saturday, February 2, 2008

Rooney suspended for derby

Wayne Rooney will sit out the Manchester derby next Sunday after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at Tottenham.

The United striker was cautioned in the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw for an ill-advised dive in the box under a challenge from Michael Dawson.

He was one of 10 players who went into referee Mark Clattenburg's notebook in a lively game, in which Carlos Tevez rescued a point for the Reds with a last-gasp equaliser.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had no qualms about Rooney's booking but claimed Clattenburg should have dismissed Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone for a similar incident.

"If the referee deems Rooney has dived, then he's right to book him," Ferguson told MUTV.

"But a few minutes later Huddlestone dived. He had already been booked but the referee did nothing about it. So you've got to say, is that fair?"

Rooney will be joined in the stands next Sunday by mercurial City midfielder Elano, who also received his fifth booking of the campaign for diving in the Blues' 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal.

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