England striker Wayne Rooney will miss the Euro 2012 group stage after being banned for three matches for his sending off against Montenegro.
Uefa’s disciplinary panel, which described the incident as an “assault”, decided on the punishment at a meeting on Thursday.
Rooney, 25, was sent off for kicking Miodrag Dzudovic in the 2-2 draw in Podgorica last Friday.
It is understood the Football Association will appeal.
BBC Sport has also learnt that Rooney is “shocked” and “disappointed” at the punishment and that he will do whatever he can to support the FA’s appeal, should it choose to make one.
In the Premier League, the punishment for violent conduct is an automatic three-match ban.
But Uefa’s policy is to suspend the player for one game, with a panel deciding on a case-by-case basis what, if any, additional punishment there should be.
Instead of issuing a longer ban, Uefa had the option to hand out a warning or a fine.
Officials take into account the referee’s report, representations from the player and national body and the player’s disciplinary history.
A statement from the Football Association said: “Further to Uefa’s decision to impose a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney, the FA awaits the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to Uefa or making any further public comment.”
BBC Sport understands there is a risk that should the FA lose its appeal against Rooney’s ban that Uefa could increase the length of the suspension to four games.
Former executive director of the FA, David Davies, believes England would be correct to lodge an appeal.
“There’s no doubt that there was a feeling around Europe that this was a serious offence,” he told BBC Radio 5 live.
Source:BBC
