Rooney Taken Advantage Of On International Duty

Wales manager Chris Coleman believes Wayne Rooney was taken advantage of when involved in a drinking controversy with England.

The Manchester United forward was pictured looking worse for wear at a wedding reception at the England team hotel after their World Cup Qualifier against Scotland.

Rooney initially apologised for his behaviour before describing the media coverage of the incident as "disgraceful" following United's 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Saturday.

And Coleman, who says he encourages his Wales squad to socialise when on break between international fixtures, believes the England captain has been harshly treated.

"There is so much interest, there is so much money involved, the game is bigger now than it's ever been," Coleman told Ben and Kammy on the Goals on Sunday sofa. 

"With that money comes jealousy, with that money comes responsibility. People say, 'Who do these players think they are, they aren't acting normally.'

"But when they act normally and have a few beers - he wasn't causing trouble, he wasn't violent, he wasn't abusing people, he was sat down having a drink at a wedding, as I understand it - what's wrong with that?

"If he has the night off, I don't see anything wrong with it. That is normal behaviour and someone has taken advantage.

"Somebody has sat next to him and taken a photo and immediately posted and the ramifications, we all know.

"For me, it all depends on if he was breaking a rule from Gareth Southgate."

The Wales manager said he is keen for his players to relax if there's an extended period of time between two international games.

"Our [Wales] training camp is a dry camp until after the game," he added. "If they are not playing for another week, the players are released, and we normally have a beer together in the bar. We don't go mad.

"Some of the players go out for a bite to eat, they might go to Cardiff, but I encourage that.

"I think it is good for them because they have been wrapped up for seven or 10 days and they need a little bit of a release. They need to relax because they are normal people."

Credit: Skysports.com