Why Wayne Rooney was upset with Apple after loss to Arsenal in MLS All-Star game | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney took charge of the MLS All-Star side for the first time as they were thrashed by Arsenal on Wednesday evening - and it's unlikely he'll be in a rush to repeat the experience judging by his post-match comments.

Pause

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 7:58

Loaded: 1.18%

The DC United boss had minimal time with his 28-man squad, which featured a mishmash of players from around MLS - and it showed on the night.

Mikel Arteta's Gunners ran out easy 5-0 winners at Audi Field in Washington DC, thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz.

Speaking after the match, Rooney bemoaned the lack of opportunity he had had to work with his players. The All-Star team's limited training sessions took place at National Mall - a landscaped park in the downtown area of the city.

It was hardly the ideal venue to train in, as the Manchester United legend explained.

"I didn't want them training at the National Mall but that's where we trained,' he said. 'We can't do anything, we were willing to do head tennis. So we literally had no time to do any tactics whatsoever, Rooney said, per the Daily Mail.

"You put the players out there and hope that they can figure things out, and against a team like Arsenal that's very difficult to do."

The former England captain went on to accuse referee Ted Unkel of 'making the game 'all about himself'.

In what is essentially a glorified friendly, Unkel managed to book six players - with five of those cautions coming in the first half.

Rooney was then asked what he had learned from the experience of being a coach in the All-Star game and couldn't help chuckling as he gave his response.

Watch: Wayne Rooney was brutally honest when asked what he'd learned from the MLS All-Star game

"Absolutely nothing," quipped Rooney - his reply summing up his general feeling towards the occasion.

While Rooney took that question in good spirits, he was far from happy with host broadcaster, Apple TV.

The streaming giant has invested heavily in the US top-tier in recent months, signing a 10-year global rights deal with the league worth $2.5 billion - and they are committed to bringing fans closer to the MLS action than ever before.

Apple will employ no less than 18 cameras, four 'super slow-motion cameras,' a Skycam and a drone to cover Lionel Messi's expected debut for Inter Miami against Cruz Azul on Friday evening and put together a similar production for the All-Star game.

Rooney, though, had some stern words for Apple after the match after being angered by some bizarre behaviour from members of their crew.

Why did Wayne Rooney take a swipe at Apple after the MLS All-Star game?

"Apple coming into the league has been great although they didn’t allow my staff to sit in their seats today," revealed Rooney.

"My staff got kicked out of their seats today by members of Apple. And I wouldn’t be doing my staff a service if I didn’t bring that up because if you are getting asked to do the game with your staff, you are expecting your staff to have seats to sit in."

Given their hefty investment, Apple look set to remain a fixture in MLS for sometime to come - particularly as they are partially funding Messi's salary - but we wouldn't fancy being a camera operator on the wrong side of a verbal tongue-lashing from Rooney should they get in his way during a DC United match.

Wednesday's match marked Rooney's second involvement in the MLS All-Star game, having previously represented Man United in the 2011 fixture. In view of the number of gripes he had about the occasion, we might be waiting a while for his third appearance.