Kasper Risgard Says Rooney Should Not Be Suspended For The 'Stamping' Incident

Kasper Risgard has been talking about the 'stamping incident' involving Wayne Rooney and himself earlier this week in the Manchester United 'v' Aalborg Champions League game.

Risgard (pictured left) departed from Old Trafford with some stud marks on his chest but he says he does not think Rooney deserves to be suspended or punished further for the incident.

UEFA will study film of the incident on Monday before deciding on what action to take, but Risgard said: “I heard UEFA is looking at this but I don’t think Rooney should be suspended. I haven’t seen the situation on TV yet as we had our Christmas party the day after the match but I can understand it looks bad on TV. It’s what happens in intensive matches. Wayne came up to me immediately and apologised. I appreciated that. I have nothing against him.”

It's quite refreshing to see a guy with this attitude after an incident of this nature. I don't say what Rooney did was right, but the Dane seems to be taking a low key, mature approach to the incident.....Back To Home Page...

A 2-2 Draw With Aalborg That Sees Manchester United Top Their Group But Rooney Faces A UEFA Ban

Wayne Rooney is in line to miss both legs of United's last 16 knockout tie in the Champions League if Uefa decide to investigate allegations that he stamped on an Aalborg player in midweek.

Kasper Risgard claims that Rooney jumped on his chest on Wednesday night and UEFA have responded with the following statement from Rob Faulkner, a UEFA spokesman: "The normal procedure is that we look at the reports from the referee and the match delegate and decide whether to open a disciplinary case, if it is seen to be blatant, if we decide it's a case of serious foul play and the referee has completely missed it, it will be considered by our disciplinary committee."

Uefa's control and disciplinary body next meets on February 13. If Rooney is charged then he is expected to receive an immediate two-match ban.....Back To Home Page...

Rafael Gives Fergie A Selection Headache

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Brazilian teenager Rafael Da Silva is now an integral part of his Manchester United first-team squad.

The 18-year-old has been handed starts against Aalborg and West Brom in recent weeks and Ferguson now accepts he has another selection dilemma on his hands at right-back with club captain Gary Neville and Wes Brown also vying for the position.

"In football, when a guy turns the corner you cannot do anything about it," he said. "Rafael is a great talent and his performances are telling me I have another problem at right-back."

At Champions League level, Aalborg did not offer much of a threat, leaving Rafael to attack down the right flank at will. Saturday's clash with West Brom was somewhat different. While the result was eventually quite one-sided, the Baggies gave a decent account of themselves during the first half. The pace and power of West Brom winger Chris Brunt provided Rafael with a tough examination of his talent, which is just what Ferguson wanted to see; a reminder of the task a similarly-aged Brown faced against Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when he encountered Leeds a decade ago.

"Wes himself came in at 18, played against Hasselbaink in his first game against Leeds and he was superb," said Ferguson. It is a learning process playing against that power and experience. Premier League football is not easy. I didn't realise how big Brunt was and what a nice left foot he had, so that presented a challenge for Rafael. For periods in the game he was finding his way and it was only when I was going to take him off that he started to play the way we know he can." .....Back To Home Page

Berbatov Brace As United Cruise Past AAB Aalborg

Dimitar Berbatov struck his first two goals for Manchester United as they crushed Aalborg 3-0 in their Champions League clash.

Berba struck in the second half after Wayne Rooney had fired United into the lead after 23 minutes following a superb pass by substitute Ryan Giggs.

It was no more than United deserved, and Berbatov then took charge with two goals in the second half to put United totally in control.

The Bulgarian volleyed his first goal for United after 55 minutes, but barely moved in celebration of the strike.

Berbatov then added his second and United's third in the 79th minute to cash on a failed clearance following a Cristiano Ronaldo cross.

Giggs was on after only 15 minutes when Paul Scholes appeared to jar his knee and was stretchered off. Scholes could now face a lengthy lay-off, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed: "He's got knee ligament damage. We don't know how serious it is obviously.

"We'll have it assessed as soon as we get home."

Ferguson had sprung a major selection surprise by handing 18-year-old Brazilian Rafael Da Silva his European debut. With captain Gary Neville left at home to nurse a groin strain, Ferguson had been expected to select Wes Brown at right-back but instead plumped for Da Silva, who impressed during last week's Carling Cup win over Middlesbrough.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Rooney, Vidic, Nani, Scholes, Rafael, O'Shea.

Team Line Ups 'v' AAB Aalborg

Rafael Da Silva gets to start tonight for Manchester United and we have Carlos Tevez on the bench.

A good line up, much better than the one that got us beaten against FC Copenhagen.

Hargreaves And Neville Not With Manchester United In Denmark

Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville were missing from the Manchester United team as it arrived in Denmark for a Champions League match against Aalborg.

Hargreaves was left home because of a knee injury that has bothered him since he joined the team from Bayern Munich last season. It wasn't immediately clear why Neville wasn't in the squad. He didn't appear injured in United's 2-0 win over Bolton this weekend.

Two of Aalborg's key players, midfielders Jeppe Curth and Kasper Risgaard, skipped practice Monday with minor injuries but were included in coach Bruce Rioch's squad for Tuesday's match.

After a frustrating 0-0 draw with Villarreal in their Champions League opener, United needs a win at Aalborg to get their title defence back on track.

Darren Fletcher said on Manutd.com: "It is not going to be quite that easy to beat them. Aalborg might not be a household name but this is the Champions League. It is a top-quality competition and they are a quality side."

The Danes managed a 0-0 draw at Celtic in their first match. Aalborg defender Michael Beauchamp said the underdog tag would be an advantage against United.

"They must win and we are just going to enjoy the game," Beauchamp said. "Football can be a very funny game and if we can get a draw, it will be a great achievement."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said it was important to "get it right against Aalborg" after dropping two points against Villarreal.

Aalborg is struggling in the 12-team Danish league, where it is in 10th place, but Ferguson expects the Danes to get fired up for what will probably be their biggest match of the season.

"They are playing Manchester United. They will have a sellout crowd and the whole town will be up for it," Ferguson said. ``Danish clubs are always battlers."