FA denies Ferguson-Eriksson rift

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — The Football Association has dismissed reports of a rift between Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson over Wayne Rooney's injury.

An angry Ferguson, smarting after United could only manage a scoreless draw at home to Middlesbrough on Monday, said Rooney would not be travelling to the World Cup if he was not fully recovered from a broken foot.

A day earlier Eriksson had claimed he would take Rooney to Germany for the June 9-July 9 showpiece even if he would only be ready to play from the quarter-finals onwards.

But Ferguson said United would have the final say on Rooney's participation, a statement that led some to believe the 20-year-old could be at the centre of a club-versus-country tug of war....