Wayne Rooney took the rare step of urging the FA to take action against a fellow player after he called on the game’s governing body to charge the Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings with violent conduct for stamping on Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 1-1 draw.
However, Manchester United’s leading scorer – who missed a penalty that could have won the game – could also face a three-match ban, ruling him out of next Monday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Chelsea, for elbowing Mings seconds later, although both men protested their innocence.
The referee, Kevin Friend, did send off Bournemouth’s captain, Andrew Surman, for shoving Ibrahimovic, but only after Rooney and the fourth official pointed out that he had booked the midfielder twice. Bournemouth’s assistant manager, Jason Tindall, who protested on the pitch at half-time, was also dispatched. Friend, who awarded both sides a penalty, gave Ibrahimovic, who had already been booked, a ticking-off and did not take any action against Mings.
“In fairness, I don’t think the referee saw Tyrone Mings trying to stamp on Zlatan’s head,” Rooney said. “I think it’s wrong in football [trying to stamp on another player]. Everyone likes to see tackles in the game but to try to stamp on someone’s head is wrong and there’s no place for it. I’m sure there will be punishment.”
Mings insisted the contact was entirely accidental, saying: “I would never do that. That’s not in my game. Hard and fair is how I like to tackle but off-the-ball stuff like that isn’t in my game. He [Ibrahimovic] is a physical player. There was maybe an elbow when the ball came in after; I didn’t see it, I felt it.”
Ibrahimovic argued that the incident was accidental. He said: “What happens on the field stays on the field. I’m not someone who attacks someone off the field. I went for the ball and it was unlucky he jumped into my elbow. But it was nothing on purpose. I hope he’s not injured. I didn’t know about the stamping on the head; if it was him it was him.”
Tindall, who was in charge on the touchline for Bournemouth because their manager, Eddie Howe, was ill, called on Friend to explain the 160-second delay in dismissing Surman, who was shown a red card on the half-way line having collected his second caution for pushing Ibrahimovic in the penalty area. “Only Kevin can answer the reason why that happened,” he said. “I am sure there was some kind of communication with the officials which ended up with Andrew being sent off.”
Tindall said the midfielder’s first caution, awarded for a challenge on Luke Shaw, was harsh and that he was dismissed from the dugout for his complaints about it.
José Mourinho, who has been sent to the stands twice this season, said he would not discuss the game’s flashpoints beyond praising Friend for awarding both penalties. “I comment on the football,” he said. “On the big decisions in the game Kevin Friend was very good. The penalty of Jones was a clear penalty, the penalty of Smith was a clear penalty so the two big decisions of the game were good.
“If you ask me that I am happy if Tyrone Mings gets three or four or five matches ban, I really don’t care about it. He knows what he did. He knows better than the referee the intention or the emotion of the moment.”
After Marcos Rojo put United ahead, Bournemouth levelled from 12 yards through Josh King after Phil Jones fouled Marc Pugh before Artur Boruc saved Ibrahimovic’s penalty when Adam Smith was adjudged to have handled.