I'll back Wayne Rooney

ABOVE: Wayne Rooney is being advised to appeal against his ban by the player he kicked

WAYNE ROONEY has been urged to appeal against his Euro 2012 ban – by the player he kicked in Montenegro.

Centre-back Miodrag Dzudovic has broken his silence to in- sist Rooney’s three-match suspension from UEFA is too harsh.

Rooney was stunned last Thursday when European football’s governing body sus- pended him for the entire group stage of next summer’s Championships.

It came after he was sent off for kicking out at Dzudovic (left) during England’s 2-2 draw in Montenegro 10 days ago.

Such violent conduct constitutes “assault” in the eyes of UEFA.

England qualified as Group G winners but boss Fabio Capello now faces a dilemma over whether to appeal against the severity of the punishment for his star player, risking a bigger ban if he loses.

But Rooney has found support for a possible appeal from an unlikely source.

And Dzudovic, who plays for Russian side Spartak Nalchik, insists he would be willing to speak up for Rooney, who he said apologised immediately after the incident and appeared genuinely sorry.

Asked through his agent Igor Gluscevic, if Rooney’s punishment was fair, Dzudovic told Starsport: “I think not. I think that he wasn’t thinking in the moment and after that, he realised what he has done.

“It was painful. I had a slight swelling after game, but I didn’t have a bruise.

“He realised immediately what he has done and he apologised to me. I will speak for Rooney if he appeals against his ban.”

The 32-year-old added he would love to play against Rooney next summer in Poland and Ukraine.

“Yes, sure,” he said. “I would like to play against him, a really great player, and his national team. It is always a pleasure.”

The FA are awaiting the official documents of the judgment from UEFA before deciding how to proceed.

Rooney was surprisingly dropped from the starting line-up for Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday.

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Wayne’s had a bad week. He was devastated at the suspension.

“He could miss the whole European Championship because there is no guarantee England will qualify from their group.”