Say sorry, Shearer tells Rooney

Alan Shearer today told Wayne Rooney to apologise for his "petty" behaviour in Madrid.

The Manchester United striker was withdrawn shortly before half-time after losing his cool during the 1-0 defeat by Spain at the Bernabeu.

England head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was worried Rooney was going to get sent off after picking up a booking and clashing with several opponents.

But worse was to come as the teenager threw to the ground his black armband - worn by the England players in memory of Emlyn Hughes - as he stormed off the pitch.

He also refused to shake hands with his replacement, United team-mate Alan Smith, and was reportedly seen to swear at the England management as he headed straight for the dressing room.

Former England captain Shearer said: "Wayne will get criticised but he will have to realise that not everything will always be rosy in the garden.

"You will not always get your own way on the pitch and when you don't you have to keep your cool, your discipline.

"He is a great player with great ability. He does push people around, bully them, but he should do it in a good way. He was petty but the saving grace is that he is young.

"It will be a bigger problem if he does not learn from his mistakes. He has to hold his hands up and say, 'I was wrong, I apologise', and learn from it.

"He will learn the hard way. The problem was he was not getting a kick in the game and he wants the ball all the time. They weren't allowing him a kick. He was not playing well and he was frustrated and angry and he showed his dissent in the wrong way."

Eriksson said: "I took Wayne off because I suspected that, even with a light tackle, the referee would have sent him off.

"But he is young and he is learning. He was sorry afterwards to Alan Smith and to me. That's good."

As for flinging the black armband to the ground, Eriksson said: "At that time, he was not thinking about disrespect. It was frustration coming out.

"It should not happen but I have seen it before and probably I will see it again from some players.

"It's football. I don't want to make a big story against Wayne Rooney but it's better to learn and it was good that it was a friendly game and we didn't lose three points."