Wayne Rooney plays on despite sex scandal

Reuters

SOLDIERING ON: Wayne Rooney will travel to Switzerland as planned despite allegations of a sex scandal splashed across Britain's Sunday tabloids.

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England forward Wayne Rooney will play against Switzerland in their Euro 2012 qualifier after confirming he wants to take the field despite sex scandal allegations about his private life.

Rooney trained as normal with his England team-mates yesterday – hours after the News of the World and Sunday Mirror alleged that the Manchester United player cheated repeatedly on his then-pregnant wife last year with a prostitute.

According to the Sunday Mirror, the affair with 21-year-old Jenny Thompson began last June and their last meeting in Manchester was in October, a month before Rooney's wife Coleen gave birth to their first son Kai.

Capello told reporters early today Rooney, who was involved in each of England goals in their 4-0 win over Bulgaria last week, had looked sharp in practice.

"Yes, he will play," he said. "He was really, really good on the pitch and I hope Rooney's performance tomorrow will be the same I saw at Wembley.

"During the training, he was really good and I spoke to him and he's ready to play. It's really important for me to know that the players want to play."

The Italian added: "We are focussed on the game and not the private life of the players. We are here to play this game.

"I think for us, for the team, it's really important, the performance on the pitch. I'm a manager, they are the players, it's better to separate the different moments."

This is the second time this year that England coach Fabio Capello has had to deal with the fallout of lurid allegations against one of his players.

Capello stripped John Terry of the captaincy in February after newspaper allegations that the defender had an affair with England team-mate Wayne Bridge's former partner.

Capello complained that Terry was not setting "an example for the young people – for the children and the fans."

The Rooneys, who married in 2008, have cultivated their fame to become one of Britain's leading celebrity couples. Coleen has her own TV series and magazine column and is considered a fashion icon.

There was no comment on the latest allegations from the Football Association or Manchester United, but the premier league club is willing to provide support to Rooney.

The FA insisted that it was "business as usual" and that Rooney would remain at the team hotel, before flying with the rest of the squad to Switzerland today for tomorrow's qualifier.

-Reuters/AP