Manchester United fans will remember the club’s pre-season tournament in Amsterdam in 2006 without much fondness.Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were both sent off by Dutch referee Ruud Bossen against Porto and, astonishingly, both were banned for three matches.The pair were allowed to play in the season-opener against Fulham but missed Man United’s subsequent matches against Charlton, Watford and Tottenham."The bans will start from Wednesday, 23 August, 14 days on from the day the FA received the match officials' report from the Dutch FA,” a statement from the Football Association read, per The Guardian.“Rooney and Scholes were sent off for violent conduct and serious foul play, respectively."Scholes was deservedly sent off for a late challenge on Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma but Sir Alex Ferguson was confident that Rooney would escape punishment.Rooney, who recently left Man United for Everton, was deemed to have thrown an arm in towards Pepe.
"I am surprised it has carried on this far,” Ferguson said.Watch the incident below and make up your own mind as to whether or not Rooney deserved a three-match ban.
Watch: Rooney's red card vs Porto
Thankfully for Man United fans, they don’t need to worry about Antonio Valencia being punished for his red card in last night’s friendly win over Real Salt Lake.
Rooney explained the incident
It was Rooney’s second straight red card after he was shown his marching orders for England in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Portugal.
And he was very disappointed at the punishment handed down.
"I feel a bit let down,” he said, per the Telegraph. “If you watch the video, I did not take my eyes off the ball once.
“On the way down, my hands brushed against the player. There was not much contact but the lad went down and stayed down."
Man United still won the title
The Red Devils didn’t end up missing Rooney or Scholes at all.
Man United’s all-time leading scorer netted twice in the season opener, a 5-1 win over Fulham, and then sat and watch his teammates pick up nine points from their matches against Charlton, Watford and Spurs.
And while he missed three matches, Scholes still earned an inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year.
Man United would go on to win the Premier League title, finishing six points ahead of Chelsea.
