FA have made example of Rooney (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

FA have made example of Rooney

4:49pm Thursday 7th April 2011 in Bantams By Lee Bullock

Lee Bullock column: Top footballers are role models whether they like it or not.

Just watch any kids’ game and you’ll see youngsters copy the mannerisms of their heroes. They’ll have the latest boot colours, the same hair styles – everything to look like the Premier League stars.

Footballers don’t set out to be examples. They just play the game because they enjoy it.

But people will see all the money at the top and want to have the same.

That’s why anything that goes on in the professional game will filter down to the local pitches and the playgrounds.

Wayne Rooney should remember that after swearing on TV. There will be kids up and down the country who will think it’s okay to celebrate the same way.

Had Rooney just been caught by a camera from the crowd then there wouldn’t have been a fuss.

You hear swearing all the time on and off the pitch. Maybe you shouldn’t but it’s a man’s game and emotions run high.

After all the grief Rooney’s been getting for a so-called bad season, it would just be seen as the emotion of scoring a hat-trick.

But he knew exactly what he was doing by looking straight into the Sky camera. And nobody wants to hear that sort of language blasting through your front room at lunchtime.

He apologised straight away but couldn’t have done it at a worse time when the FA are looking to crack down on behaviour.

They can make an example of him now, though I’m not sure whether it warrants missing an FA Cup semi-final.

Maybe Sky need to have a rethink as well. If they are so worried about this sort of thing, should they be sticking a camera in a player’s face?

But it’s always the same with any Rooney story.

All the Man United bashers jump on his case and Alex Ferguson comes out fighting to defend him. It’s one big soap opera.