Soccer:England boss Fabio Capello has no concerns over playing Wayne Rooney against Montenegro tomorrow after speaking to the striker about his father's arrest today. Rooney's 48-year-old father, also named Wayne, was bailed pending further inquiries after being arrested over an alleged football betting scam.
But Italian coach Capello has no worries after talking to the Manchester United forward.
“I spoke to him just five minutes ago,” Capello revealed. “I found him relaxed and calm. There is no problem for the game, he will play tomorrow against Montenegro. He told me there are no problems.”
As well as Rooney’s father, eight other people, including the Manchester United star’s uncle, Richie, 54, and Liverpool-born Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings, 26, were also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
Police said the arrests were the culmination of a joint operation with the Gambling Commission into “suspicious betting activity”.
With his focus on tomorrow’s Euro 2012 qualifying match, Capello could pair Rooney with United team-mate Danny Welbeck in attack.
“I need to sleep (on it) tonight and will decide tomorrow morning about the forward to play with Rooney and about Welbeck,” said the coach. “I need to choose.”
Capello has no new injury concerns for the match after training in Montenegro.
“We have no injuries, we’re really good and trained really well in the last three days,” he said. “I selected 24 players and all of those players are fit to play tomorrow.”