Revealed: Why Rooney Was Angry After Being Subbed Against Crystal Palace 1

Wayne Rooney failed to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring record against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, but the Manchester United captain still played his part in the team’s vital 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park.

Although it wasn’t a vintage performance from Rooney, he still played 80 minutes before being subbed off for Marcus Rashford.

Seconds after his withdrawal and the cameras cut to Rooney, who was seen hitting his boot against the dugout.

Some United fans saw this as Rooney reacting angrily.

And it turns out the 31-year-old forward was feeling angry at the time – although not because of Mourinho’s decision to sub him off with 10 minutes left on the clock and the scores still level at 1-1.


And here’s what Twitter thought at the time…


In his post-match interview, per the Manchester Evening News, Mourinho was asked why Rooney looked so perturbed following his substitution.

“He was angry with a possible penalty,” Mourinho responded. “He was complaining with the referee on the pitch, he was complaining with the fourth official on the bench, he was really upset with it, but even at 1-1 I told him ‘Forget it, let’s forget it.’”

The handball incident involved Palace midfielder Joe Ledley, who cleared the ball from his own penalty area using his arm.


Despite the clear infringement, referee Craig Pawson – who didn’t exactly cover himself in glory at Selhurst Park – opted against awarding a penalty.

Less than 10 minutes later, though, and United secured all three points thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s winner.


Paul Pogba showed great skill and vision to play the pass to Zlatan, who produced the all-important finish when it mattered most.