S OCCER WORLD CUP:WAYNE ROONEY has been warned he risks being sent off in the World Cup should he repeat the tirade of abusive language launched at the referee in last night's warm-up game against Platinum Stars, which England won 3-0.

The England striker was shamed into issuing a post-match apology to the local official Jeff Selogilwe, handing him his number 10 shirt as recompense, after shouting “f*** you” at the referee early in the second half.

Rooney had been on the pitch only for a few minutes, but was already incensed that a series of niggly fouls committed by Kagiso Senamela and the former Tottenham Hotspur defender Mbulelo Mabizela had gone unpunished.

The USA, England’s first opponents on Saturday, have already suggested they might play on Rooney’s perceived fragile temperament with this an indication that the player can be on edge.

“Rooney insulted me,” said Selogilwe. “He said: ‘F*** you’. He is a good player when you see him on the television, but when you see him on the pitch he just keeps on insulting the referee.

“To me, it looks like Rooney insults people and fouls other players. If he insults a referee like me, then he will use that vulgar language to other referees as well. He must learn to control his temper. He could get sent off in the World Cup, especially if he uses this kind of language.

“Maybe the England players undermined this game and thought: ‘This is just a friendly, we can do what we like and the referees are not that professional’. I was very disappointed in Rooney because he is my favourite player, but he will still be my favourite player. He apologised to me and gave me the shirt he was wearing.”

Rooney was dismissed in his last appearance at the World Cup finals, against Portugal in the quarter-final at Germany 2006, for kicking out at Ricardo Carvalho, though his disciplinary record has improved as he has matured in the years since. He was booked only eight times last season, and has not been sent off since Manchester United’s Premier League game at Fulham in March 2009. Indeed, he went through England’s entire qualification campaign for South Africa without being cautioned.

However, his temper notoriously flares when frustration builds and, having missed the end of the English season with an ankle injury, Mabizela’s attentions were clearly not welcome.

“I think Wayne’s temper is a good thing,” said his team-mate Jermain Defoe, who was replaced by the United forward at half-time with England 1-0 up. “When you’ve got that fire in your belly as a player, if you take that away from him then he won’t be the same player.”

Rooney recovered his poise enough to volley England’s third goal after Defoe, two minutes in, and Joe Cole had earlier pierced the South African Premier Soccer League side’s defences.

Fabio Capello made 10 half-time substitutions, with only Joe Cole playing for 90 minutes.

Paul Scholes has said he would have accepted Capello’s request to come out of international retirement and play for England for the World Cup if he had not been asked at such a late stage.

The Manchester United midfielder questioned why Capello had waited until only a few weeks before the tournament to see whether he could be tempted to join the party to South Africa.

“It’s a big decision and I wasn’t really given enough time to think about it,” Scholes said. “If they’d asked me earlier I probably would have accepted. But there are players in the squad who have spent nearly two years helping England qualify for the World Cup, whereas I haven’t been involved for a long time.

“It wasn’t a case of wanting to go on holiday, it was the fact that I got the call so close to the tournament, and also I didn’t want to take the place of someone who had helped get England to South Africa. The idea just didn’t sit comfortably with me.”

• Guardian Service