Aalborg Accuse Rooney Over Tackle

Aalborg's Kasper Risgard has accused Manchester United's Wayne Rooney of making a dangerous tackle on him during Wednesday's 2-2 Champions League draw.

Risgard claims the incident, which went unpunished by the referee, left him physically marked and also alleged that Rooney apologised after the match.

"He was jumping at my chest," he said. "Anywhere else but here [Old Trafford] and it would have been a red card."

However, Rooney played down any suggestion of unnecessary aggression.

"That's football, it's a physical game," he said.

Risgard claimed French referee Laurent Duhamel did not see the incident but, if European football's governing body Uefa decides to investigate the video evidence, Rooney could face retrospective punishment and miss part of the last-16 stage in February.

United are set to face one of Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid, Lyon or Real Madrid after Rooney's equaliser meant they topped group E ahead of Villarreal.

The 23-year-old's 52-minute goal also meant United extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 19 games - a record shared with Ajax and Bayern Munich.

Aalborg coach Allan Kuhn said he was not certain Rooney purposely landed on Risgard.

"It is not good for a fantastic footballer," he said.

"You have to keep your head and stay calm in situations like that... but that man was a little bit frustrated.

"I was not sure during the game and I have not seen the pictures, so I cannot be 100% sure. But some of my people have seen it and said it was."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he did not see the Risgard incident but he did, however, admit it was a feisty game at times and criticised Aalborg goalscorer Jeppe Curth for a challenge on Carlos Tevez.

"Aalborg are not short of tackles are they?" he said. "They got stuck in and the one on Carlos was a blatant attack. Probably what saved him was that Carlos got straight up.

"But other than that I don't think it was such a game that you could say it was a filthy match."

He added: "We won the group which is what we wanted to do and I think the tournament really takes off now.

"We missed too many chances for my comfort - we should have been three-up in the first 15 minutes.

"You only need a second to lose a goal and it was quite a shock to us and they made it difficult for us because it gave them a purpose to hold on and defend really.

"It is a great night for them in a way and fortunately we got a goal back.

"Although 2-2 is not a great result for us it has given me an opportunity to play a lot of my players which is important.

"Winning the group and remaining undefeated is another important issue because it is a good run we are on and we want to keep it that way."

And Ferguson relished the possibility of his side facing Real Madrid in the last 16, after he fell out with the Spanish club's president, Ramon Calderon, over their pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo.

"That would be a nice party wouldn't it?" said Ferguson. "I look forward to tea and biscuits with Ramon Calderon."