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FIFA on Saturday handed out punishments to the "naughty boys" of the World Cup knockout matches - Wayne Rooney was removed from the field in the match against Portugal and received a 2-match suspension, while Argentinians Maxi Rodriguez and Leandro Cufre received suspensions of 2 and 4 games respectively after the match against Germany.
The 20-year-old W. Rooney was shown a red card by referee Horacio Elizondo for stepping on opponent Ricardo Carvalho. The Englishman later defended himself, saying that it was accidental, and Portugal's defender and W. Rooney's teammate at "Man Utd" Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of influencing the referee to show the card, but FIFA did not investigate his actions.
A 2-match suspension means that W. Rooney will miss England's 2008 European Championship qualifying matches against Andorra at home and away against Macedonia. The young forward, who was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs, will be able to play again at home against Macedonians on October 7.
Meanwhile, L. Cufre will have to miss four matches with the Argentine national team and pay 10,000 Swiss francs for elbowing German defender Per Mertesacker, while M. Rodriguez received the same penalties as W. Rooney for using fists in scuffles. German player Torsten Frings already served his suspension by not playing in the World Cup semifinal.
