Wayne Rooney has issued an unreserved apology after the Football Association rebuked him for appearing to be drunk at a wedding party and being pictured out socialising until 5am.
The 31-year-old admitted that the images that emerged of him over the weekend were "inappropriate for someone in his position".
Rooney will not face disciplinary action from the FA, but it remains to be seen whether there are repercussions over his status as England captain. The FA is understood to be extremely disappointed with his behaviour and will, in future, ban players from having nights "off' after matches on international duty.
Rooney said he had apologised "unreservedly" to England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate - who has been left deeply embarrassed by the incident - but who is nevertheless expected to be confirmed in the role on a full-time basis next week and has to decide whether to stick with the player as the man to lead his country before the squad reconvenes in March.
There will be particular disappointment given Rooney's seniority in what is a young England squad and the fact that, as captain, and under the FA's code of conduct, he is regarded as a role model to the players. The rebuke is yet another serious blow for Rooney, who is fighting for his place with club and country.
The FA said that it would now have to "review" how much "free time" it allows players after Rooney was pictured, apparently the worse for wear, in The Sun with wedding guests whom he met at The Grove Hotel near Watford - where England stay - in the early hours of Sunday.
The newspaper printed its first story on Monday (local time) on Rooney being at the wedding and claimed he had been drinking and followed that up with a far more damaging version on Tuesday which showed he had been out until the early hours of Sunday morning and was accompanied by photographs of him appearing drunk.
The second story took the FA's involvement to a new level and the body has spoken to all of its staff who were at the party as well as England international Phil Jagielka, who was also present.
An FA spokesperson said: "All England personnel have a responsibility to behave appropriately at all times. We will be reviewing our policy around free time whilst on international duty."
Wayne Rooney 'too drunk to stand' as he cosies up with two women at wedding https://t.co/U7oT8P4HC4 pic.twitter.com/yfoLG950c8
— The Sun (@TheSun) November 15, 2016
Currently, players are allowed the night off after an England game and can return home or go out or, as Rooney did, choose to stay at the team hotel. In future such nights will be banned with the players, effectively, under curfew while on England duty.
It comes as Rooney's manager at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, is understood to be unhappy with the FA - as well as the player - after he learnt that backroom staff were also present at the function.
Mourinho accepts that Rooney is allowed to relax on a day off but is not pleased that he appeared to behave in the way that he did and was allowed to do so by FA staff.
It will be interesting to see how Mourinho reacts when he holds his pre-match press conference ahead of United's home match against Arsenal on Saturday. He usually takes an extremely dim view of player misbehaviour.
Rooney is expected to recover from a knee problem but it remains to be seen whether he is selected, despite United suffering an injury crisis.
The Telegraph, London
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