Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was left red-faced on Match of the Day after host Gabby Logan made a cheeky joke about his hair during a debate about hair-pulling red cards in the Premier League
Gabby Logan delivered a savage quip about Wayne Rooney 's hair during Saturday night's episode of Match of the Day. BBC pundit Rooney was analysing Dan Ballard's dismissal during Sunderland's 1-1 stalemate with Wolves on Saturday.
Ballard was issued a red card in the opening period at Molineux after referee Paul Tierney reviewed the incident involving Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare on the pitch-side monitor. Sunderland defender Ballard was deemed to have pulled his opponent's hair , which was classified as violent conduct. The decision proved pivotal in the match as the Black Cats were forced to play the majority of it with 10 men, before eventually conceding and drawing 1-1.
It sparked a discussion on Match of the Day about how the regulations surrounding hair pulling are being enforced and whether the action should automatically be considered violent conduct. Taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to the discussion, Manchester United legend Rooney remarked with a mischievous grin: 'That's why I didn't grow a ponytail when I was playing,' before laughing FOLLOW OUR MAN UNITED FB PAGE!
Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester United Facebook page Logan, seizing the moment, responded: 'And that's not the only reason, let's be honest,' leaving pundit Joe Hart in fits of laughter. The presenter and Rooney were both alluding to the fact the former striker wore shaved or thinning hair for virtually the entirety of his career and probably couldn't grow his hair long in the same fashion.
Turning to the more pressing matter at hand, Rooney expressed his disbelief at the harshness with which hair-pulling incidents have been dealt with in the Premier League this season. He said: 'I just can't believe I'm sitting on Match of the Day talking about players getting sent off for pulling hair.
'I think it's ridiculous. I think if that's the rule, the rule has to change because it's getting absolutely ridiculous.
'When you are playing, it is a physical game and you do grab on to the shirt, you are trying to get an upper hand on your opponent. And sometimes if there's a big flock of hair, then you're going to grab it at some point.
' Logan highlighted the absence of clarity within the existing framework. She said: 'Because there is a grey area. There has to be some nuance. And of course, at the moment, it sits in violent conduct.
And there will be some which are violent, but not all.
' Hart added: 'I've seen a lot more violent things happen this weekend and none of them punished for it. ' Ballard became the third player this season to receive his marching orders for hair pulling. Arokodare was also on the receiving end of a hair pull by Michael Keane in January, while Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez was shown a red card for a similar offence involving Dominic Calvert-Lewin the previous month.
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