Wayne Rooney aims dig at Erling Haaland for refusing to take FA Cup final penalty
Haaland gave the penalty to his teammate.
Wayne Rooney took aim at Erling Haaland for his decision not to take a penalty in Manchester City’s FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace.
Palace took a shock lead after 16 minutes with Eze Eberechi pouncing on the counter attack to send Palace fans into delirium.
10 minutes before half-time, City were given the chance to draw level after Bernardo Silva was brought down in the box by Tyrick Mitchell.
Haaland picked up the ball, giving it a kiss with Wembley expecting him to step up and take the spot kick.
But the Norway international surprised everyone by handing it over to Omar Marmoush – who saw his effort brilliantly saved by Dean Henderson.
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Alan Shearer, on commentary duty for BBC One, was bewildered by Haaland’s decision to hand over the ball.
‘I wouldn’t be prepared to give up a penalty in a cup final – no chance,’ the former England international said.
Haaland has seen three of his previous seven penalties saved and had only just returned from a spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury last week against Southampton.
While former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney showed some sympathy towards the City star, he explained the decision illustrated the difference in mentality between him and all-time greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘Erling Haaland is a world class forward, but when we’re talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s no way they’re giving that ball away,’ Rooney told BBC One.
‘That’s what separates them two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players.
‘They are selfish and they want to score every game.
‘When he misses chances I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him.
‘Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him. You never know, he’s a human being.’
Pep Guardiola later explained he played no part in the decision for Marmoush to take the penalty, insisting it was down to the players on the pitch.
He said: ‘I don’t know I didn’t speak with them. They take the decision. Always with the penalties I like the guys who take the initiative and they decided.’
