DC United's Wayne Rooney Sent Off For Horrific Tackle On Diego Rossi

Wayne Rooney was sent off for the first time in his Major League Soccer career after a reckless tackle on Diego Rossi.

At the time, DC United were trailing 3-0 to Los Angeles FC. But Rooney's red card made things much worse.

Just after the break, Rooney lost possession before flying into Rossi. He caught him high on his leg in a nasty foul.

Match referee Robert Sibiga initially pulled out a yellow card. However, through the help of VAR, he overturned his decision and dismissed the DC United skipper.

No protests from Wayne Rooney who handed over his captain's armband before jogging off the field.

DC United eventually lost 4-0 to Los Angeles FC with Rossi bagging a hat-trick. Ex-Arsenal and West Brom winger Carlos Vela also got on the score-sheet.

Speaking after the game, Rooney had no arguments over the red card and insisted there was no malicious intent.

"I have no arguments," he said. "It wasn't malicious and I didn't try to hurt him. But obviously I caught him.

"I was expecting [a red card] really when the referee gave me the yellow. It's the right call."

DC United resume their MLS campaign at home to Montreal Impact on Tuesday.

"I think the best thing for a team when you lose like today is to play again quickly," Rooney added.

"We've got the opportunity to play again on Tuesday at home.

"That's a great opportunity for us to try and put this game behind us, get a good result against Montreal and put this game to bed."