Rooney 'confident punching claims will be dismissed'
England striker Wayne Rooney was tonight said to be confident claims he hit a student in a bar brawl will be dismissed as police confirmed they are examining CCTV footage of the alleged clash.
Patrick Hanrahan, 22, made a complaint against the Manchester United star following a supposed confrontation in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but is yet to formally press charges.
Police said they have been unable to contact the student today to take statements about his allegation that Rooney punched him three times in a Manchester nightclub.
“Officers have been unable to take a statement from the man who made a complaint, but are looking at CCTV pictures from the venue at the moment,” said a spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police .
Mr Hanrahan told a newspaper Rooney struck him after he taunted the teenager about his controversial move from Everton to Manchester United.
Rooney had been in Tiger Tiger, a nightclub and bar in Manchester city centre, at around 1am with United team-mates Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Roy Carroll when the confrontation is alleged to have taken place.
The players are all in national team squads preparing for England’s World Cup qualifying group match against Northern Ireland at United’s ground Old Trafford on Saturday.
Rooney’s spokesman has dismissed the allegations and said his client did not responded to provocation from the man involved, who was later ejected.
Sources close to the player said he is confident that CCTV pictures will prove his version of events and confirmed Rooney has the backing of his club and national team.
Mr Hanrahan, of Stockton on Tees, told The Sun the player went “absolutely crazy”.
He said: “He landed three punches – two on top of my head and one on the right side of my forehead.”
A spokesman for Rooney: “The claims of Mr Hanrahan come straight out of the realms of fantasy.
“Wayne has taken this completely in his stride, he won’t let it affect his football.”
Police confirmed they will make further efforts to contact Mr Hanrahan before making a decision on how to proceed with the allegation.
