Rooney hits back at Mancini over card feud

Wayne Rooney has restarted his red card row with Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini after the Italian used a similar gesture to the striker in the win over Wigan.

Edin Dzeko scored the only goal of the game to put the blue half of Manchester three points clear of their title rivals, but in the dying moments of the game Maynor Figueroa handled the ball when acting as the last man, but referee Martin Atkinson did not believe the action deserved a sending off.

After seeing the handball, Mancini did a similar gesture to Rooney when Vincent Kompany got sent-off for a two-footed lunge on Nani in their recent FA Cup meeting, with the Italian hoping Figueroa would meet the same fate.

United’s Rooney questioned on Twitter during the game: “Was manchini (sic) asking for a red card????”

Mancini backed himself up following the final whistle, insisting the action is acceptable for an incident such as the defender’s hand-ball.

“I did it because Wayne Rooney did it,” Mancini told reporters after the game. “It’s normal with a chance like that to do it.”

“I am on the bench. When you are near to the referee you can have more of an influence.”

“I am on the bench and the referee cannot see me. I used to do this (as a player), but I don’t want to say anything about that situation.”