Ref rubbishes Ronaldo role in Rooney red card
Tuesday, 4 July 2006 10:01Referee Horacio Elizondo insists Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo did not influence his decision to send off England striker Wayne Rooney in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final.
Manchester United forward Rooney appeared to stamp on Ricardo Carvalho after an hour of the match, which England went on to lose after a penalty shoot-out.
Ronaldo infuriated his United club colleague by calling for referee Elizondo to punish Rooney and the Liverpudlian pushed his Red Devils team-mate in anger.
But Argentinian Elizondo has confirmed the fiery Rooney was dismissed for the original foul.
He told The Times: 'It was violent play and therefore he got a red card.
'People can say what they want (about Ronaldo) but this had absolutely no influence.
'In general I don't pay much attention to that sort of thing because I don't care about the pressure on my shoulders during a match.
'For me it was a clear red card, so I didn't react to the Portuguese players.'
Ronaldo also claims he has made his peace with his Manchester United team-mate via text messages.
Ronaldo, strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid after the World Cup, said: 'Between me and Rooney, there is absolutely no problem. I reiterate, no problem.
'At the end of the game, we sent each other some text messages.
'Between the two of us everything has been cleared. He wished me the best of luck in the World Cup.
'He told me we had a great team and that if we continued to play like this, we would go far. He wasn't angry with me.'
