THEY are stark images which say almost everything you need to know about the difference between two of England's greatest sporting stars.
Back in August, as Australia succumbed to England in the Test match which would ultimately form part of their historic Ashes defeat, Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff showed what a true sportsman he is by congratulating rival batsman Brett Lee at the crease rather than laughing in his face.
Then, last night, Manchester United and England soccer hero Wayne Rooney demonstrated that he matches Flintoff's chivalry with an equal measure of arrogance.
Shown the yellow card by referee Kim Milton Nielsen for a foul on Villarreal player Quique Alvarez, the young player showed his petulance by clapping sarcastically in the face of the man in black.
The result: a second yellow card for dissent and then dismissal for a young man who is quickly earning a reputation for being as fiery-tempered on the pitch as he is red hot on the ball.
That Nielsen is the same referee who sent off David Beckham after an outrageous kicking incident during the 1998 World Cup shows that Rooney is not alone in showing complete and utter contempt for the very game which is providing him with riches beyond his greatest dreams.
Maturity
And yet it is worth remembering that David Beckham eventually reached a level of maturity and self-control where he was able to shrug off his demons. Whereas he was once vilified to the grim extent that football fans even staged fake hangings of the footballer, he is now considered to be a worthy England captain.
Speaking after last night's unsightly Spanish display, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson suggests that the young forward can also mend his ways.
"Wayne is a young man," the United boss says. "He is 19 and you hope with maturity those things will evaporate. Wayne reacts to injustice. He felt he had been wrongly booked but you cannot applaud the referee. He had no chance whatsoever with that referee.
But hang on a minute, Sir Alex. The fact that Wayne Rooney follows in the footsteps of Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and David Beckham, all of them "difficult" yet brilliant sportsmen in their day, shouldn't and doesn't serve as an excuse for his behaviour.
In both rugby union and league, governing bodies are clamping down on bad behaviour on the pitch. Just this week players have earned suspensions of up to 11 matches for violent conduct. Rugby stars rarely question the authority of the referee, some even calling him sir.
Rather than weighing Rooney's outbursts against the potential gains in the Old Trafford trophy cabinet, Sir Alex and men like him should be giving serious thought to the way that football can recapture the kind of well-deserved hero worship attracted by the England cricket side.
Ugly scenes
He could begin by capping the dizzying financial rewards which encourage people like Rooney to believe that they are too big to show respect to a referee. That would surely help to prevent ugly scenes which have tarnished football's image off the pitch.
As it stands, the difference between Freddie Flintoff and Wayne Rooney perhaps comes down to the fact that football is just "not cricket". Engorged by greed, soccer is sicker than Charlie And The Chocolate Factory's Augustus Gloop. Fired by firm morals and enthusiasm, cricket remains as wholesome as Charlie Bucket.
For his part, Flintoff is no angel. He had a reputation for hellraising off the pitch and is known to have used the odd expletive while standing on the field of play. But the 27-year-old Lancastrian still has his feet firmly on the ground and would never dream of raising his hands to the umpire.
Flintoff plies his trade with a smile, even when he is facing the most heated of sporting situations. In the gloom of The Oval, he demonstrated his ability to make his team-mates laugh by requesting that someone "put some lights on the bails".
The only aggression the all-rounder shows is reserved for when he delivers a lightning fast ball towards his batsman opponent. For Flintoff and his fellow cricketers, the umpire is a colleague to be respected, rather than an official to rail against.
And whereas Wayne Rooney thinks he owns the world, councillors in Preston were so enamoured of their hometown star, Flintoff, that they saw fit to make him a freeman of the city.
"Andrew Flintoff may be an international cricket superstar these days," said mayor Bikhu Patel at the time. "But he is Preston born and bred, and has always remained proud of his roots. He is a great role model."
Does football need to clean up its act? Have your say.
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What a load of hog wash you give us. Andy Flintoff was pilloried by you in the media a few years ago, when he was young and foolish - he is now mature and you jump on the bandwagon to pat him on the back (deservedly) and make him out to be the Angel Gabriel.
Wayne Rooney is a stupid boy - nothing else - instead of making him public enemy number one, praise his good points and just report on everything else. Don't stand as judge and jury - he is going to realise quite soon how there is no room for silly behaviour and he will mature, hopefully into a well rounded adult - and still have his magnificent talent
Football is in no danger at all of turning ugly. It already has! It is in danger of turning uglier...and uglier, as the players get richer...and richer. How long before its up and coming star Corruption hits the headlines?
No Mr Ferguson, Rooney is a young ADULT! but please keep on encouraging him to think that the beautiful game revolves around him and that every tackle he makes is perfect and he should be allowed to score in every game and while Rooney gets use to that ideology you get use to him sitting on the bench! Injustice my a**e!
If this was an isolated incident then yes, you could say he was showing his immaturity. However, Shrek ( as he likes to be known ) has shown his worst side so often over his short playing career that obviously this is something more than adolescence. He is this decades "Gazza" ......he is destined to be in and out of the Sunday papers for the rest of his career.
That article is wrong on so many levels I wouldn't know where to begin however I do recall Ricky Ponting, the captain of Australia shouting & gesticulating at the England dressing room in the recent test series between the two countries - but that wouldn't fit in with your lazy article would it?
If Rooney behaved like he does in any other "job" than football, he would have been sacked long ago. Too many people make too many excuses for people like this overpaid cretin,thats the reason for the state of society today. Two years in the army would have done him more good than pats on the back from Uncle Alex. He would then have learned just what an insignificant sad person he is.
Disagree with you on the game turning ugly. Football was born from the working classes, cricket and rugby more from the toffs. Yes, you should never argue with the ref because a player's job is to play, the ref makes the decisions. Argue and you deserve to be booked. But unless you want to curtail pure talent (i.e. Cantona, John Macenro, Alex Higgins), as opposed to honed skills, you have to accept that the not so gentlemanly side effects of adrenaline flows. These flows causes aggression and passion to surface, giving instinct that extra quicker split second, that half a yard extra pace, the confidence to do brilliant things that will be remembered more than the game. Football is a man's game but not necessarily a gentleman's game. I suggest the prawn sandwich munchers and politically correct stick to cricket. Yes, I agree that a lot of kids see footballers as role models but its the parents responsibility to teach them what is right or wrong in life. If kids respect others more than their parents, then as parents, we have failed miserably.
We sponsor a soccer team in Vancouve and unfortunatley have seen terrible displays of anger on the pitch. Players must understand, the ref is in charge and his word is the law. The game does need to be cleaned up, it is a far cry from when I played in my younger days when we all cogratulated our opponents and also helped them up off the ground.
Why would anyone want to call Freddie Flintoff's behaviour arrogance? There are not many sportsmen nowadays who will actually shake the hand of his competitor whether he has won or lost. These are the sportsmen that we should be showing our children as sports heros not these over paid children showing their pugnacious behaviour.
Rooney is a result of many years of brainwashing of our children by "THE Media"
Until we start insisting on self discipline in all areas of society(throughout the world) ,We will continue to see morons like him being set up as "Heros"and being paid to act in an anti-social manner, for sensationalisation by MEDIA.I include Alex Higgins,Gaza Sir Alex..etc ad-nauseum as morons.
Put the blame where it belongs.