Plymouth Argyle head coach Wayne Rooney was sent off in Saturday’s Championship game against Blackburn Rovers.
The former Manchester United and England forward was sacked eight times during his glittering playing career and has now been given a red card as a coach.
Rooney, who took charge of the club in 2024-25, was sent off for kicking a bottle at the crowd in frustration after Blackburn’s equalizer.
However, the players coped well with the setback and fought back with Morgan Whittaker scoring the winning goal in the 97th minute.
Rooney was not allowed to speak to the media in the post-match press conference due to his red card, but his assistant Pete Shuttleworth intervened, ESPN reported.
“He’s still passionate. We’ve all watched him play over the years and we all know that passion is what drives him and he’s done a great job here.
“I’ve seen him like that. He continues to have that passion on the touchline. He likes to look at the game calmly and calculatingly at times, and that’s his management style. That passion will never be taken away from Wayne.
“It was disappointing that Ryan Hardy wasn’t given a foul, but Wayne reacted to it with passion. I don’t know the exact reason for the red card or what it qualifies as, but he… just reacted that way,” Shuttleworth said.
Argyle won their third home game in a row, leaving them in 14th place in the Championship.
