WAYNE ROONEY HAS been banned for three matches following his sending off against Montenegro.
The decision means Rooney is likely to miss all three of England’s Euro 2012 group games and could conceivably miss out on the entire tournament should his side fail to qualify for the quarter finals.
The player has apologised for the indiscretion and wrote to UEFA in an attempt to persuade them not to extend the one-game ban he automatically received as a result of the incident.
However, the organisation have ignored the striker’s pleas and heaped further punishment on him.
It will serve as another blow to Rooney, after manager Fabio Capello indicated earlier in the week that his place in the side was not guaranteed.
Meanwhile, some commentators had previously criticised Capello’s decision to select Rooney in the first place, as the game coincided with the emergence of allegations regarding his father.
Rooney still has the option of lodging an appeal against the ban to the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body within three days of the decision.