Rooney is a troubled man, but we need to get off his back

Since bursting onto the scene as a lively sixteen-year-old and curling a fantastic winning goal past the Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman at Goodison Park in 2002, Wayne Mark Rooney has seldom been out of the spotlight. But recently it has been more and more for all the wrong reasons. Blessed with a natural talent that saw him (somewhat stupidly) dubbed the 'White Pele' at a young age, the then-Everton youngster first courted controversy when it transpired he had been visiting prostitutes in Liverpool, one of whom was in fact a grandmother.

Securing a big-money move to Manchester United in 2004, the young striker seemed to curb his temper over the following years, and a few flash-points aside (red cards at World Cup 2006 and against Villarreal in the Champions League) seemed to have grown into a focussed professional footballer. Come early 2010 and Rooney was being touted as arguably the world's best player as he had finally began to score goals for fun and was on course to land the PFA Player of the Year award. But since then it has all gone wrong.

As has been well documented, an ankle injury picked up in the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich saw him embark on a run where he failed to score a goal for Manchester United in open play for eight long months. But that's only the half of it. Firstly, he flopped badly at the World Cup, and vented his anger at the fans into the TV camera (sound familiar?). Then it was discovered he had cheated on his wife while she was pregnant, with a prostitute (familiar again?). Then, arguably worst of all, there was the 'transfer request' saga. In October, seemingly out of the blue, Rooney released a statement expressing his desire to leave Manchester United citing the club’s 'lack of ambition' as his reason.

For a United player to do such a thing, and seemingly risk the wrath of Sir Alex Ferguson, was unprecedented and seemed unbelievable. OK, Cristiano Ronaldo had said he would like to play for Real Madrid long before he left, but that was different, he wasn't questioning the club. To say that about the Red Devils, champions in three of the previous four seasons, European champions as recently as 2008, and still firmly in the title race at the time (now firmly in the lead) was bizarre to say the least. Regardless, Ferguson and Chief Executive David Gill successfully convinced the forward to stay and sign a new deal, but he had alienated himself from the fans and was clearly unhappy off the field.

In the few months since, Rooney has gradually clawed his way back to top form, with a wonder goal against Manchester City and most recently a hat-trick at West Ham confirming this. And it was after this hat-trick that his latest controversial moment hit the headlines. The Scouse striker 'celebrated' his third goal by shouting into the television camera and a couple of swear words were picked up by the microphone. He is now facing a two-match ban, at a crucial time of the season, from the FA.

Now, let's look at this objectively. Rooney has sworn into a TV camera. The real issue here is the TV camera part. Swearing is done on the football pitch, in the stands, in the pubs, in offices, at home, almost anywhere in the world these days, and it is certainly not seen as a punishable offence. Tasteless? Perhaps. 'Uncouth'? Yes. But worthy of a serious punishment? Certainly not. So what is the difference between simply swearing at someone and swearing into the TV camera? Not a lot, I would argue. Others may believe that it is wrong because he is swearing directly at the audience of the game, but whether Rooney meant that is hard to tell. He came out and apologised afterwards, insisting it 'wasn't aimed at anyone in particular'.

It is clear by now that Rooney is a very angry, frustrated man. He has received much abuse and aggravation from both the fans and the media in recent times, in my opinion rightfully so. But on Saturday, he had pulled off a top class performance in a vital Premier League game, and his outburst was simply a natural release in the heat of a very emotional moment. Football is all about passion. There is a reason it is the most popular sport in the world, there is a reason that more newspapers, websites and forums are devoted to it than any other sport. People care about football, and when people care about things, they often swear in excitement, or frustration. For a star player to face a ban for swearing at a camera, when it is the first time he has done so (yes he shouted at the camera in the World Cup, but he didn't swear then) seems a disproportionate punishment. A stern warning, with the knowledge that any repeat offence could bring a ban, would be more than enough.

The FA need to get their priorities right, Rooney would have been much more deserving of a ban a few weeks ago when he elbowed a Wigan Athletic player in the face. Physical violence is far more of a crime than uttering a few swear words into a camera which, let's face it, we've all heard before. The proximity of the camera to Rooney also didn't help, and perhaps that is something that the FA and TV broadcasters should consider. Football is a passionate game, and that goes hand-in-hand with swearing. OK, Rooney undoubtedly has a bad attitude, and he certainly needs to look at himself and try to manage his public image better. But the man had scored a hat-trick in a key game against a background of abuse, intense criticism and pressure. Rooney is a wonderful talent and I fear that if he isn't cut some slack soon, then his mental health, and career, may be damaged beyond repair.