Preston goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann has
claimed that Manchester United captain Wayne
Rooney approached him to apologise for the
penalty incident in Monday’s FA Cup tie.
Rooney went down in the box after seemingly
little to no contact from Stuckmann, but the
penalty was awarded and the Red Devils ace
brushed himself off to score from the spot and
wrap up a 3-1 victory for Louis van Gaal’s side.
Stuckmann went at the ball with both feet before
Rooney knocked the ball past him and went to
ground. There has been a flurry of support for
the England international since the match, with
both Three Lions manager Roy Hodgson and
former United full-back Phil Neville declaring that
Rooney was merely avoiding contact, not diving
for a penalty.
Stuckmann has now thrown a spanner in the
works by revealing that Rooney came up to him
after the game to apologise for going down.
“After the game Rooney told me: ‘Sorry, it was
my chance to get a penalty. I had to use that’,”
the keeper is quoted as saying in The Sun.
“I say it clear: That was no penalty,” he added. “I
also believe that if the situation had happened
the other way around, one of our strikers against
the United keeper, the ref wouldn’t have given
the penalty. I have no doubt about that.”