Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard dodge England backlash as £10m A:3K skills show is ditched

Fumble: Rooney and Gerrard in action against Algeria

Hard times: Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard failed to inspire England

England's woeful World Cup performance has led to a multi-million pounds skills extravaganza featuring Wayne Rooney and Steve Gerrard being ditched.

The A:3K event, which was due to take place at London's O2 Arena a week after the World Cup Final on July 17, is now being postponed until next summer.
England captain Gerrard and striker Rooney were behind the shock decision because they felt it was inappropriate to be taking part in such an event following the debacle in South Africa.

Along with Gerrard and Rooney, the other world stars taking part were Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa.


Dream line-up: Cesc Fabregas, David Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney pose in the promotional shot for A:3K

All have had World Cups ranging from disappointing to downright awful apart from Spain's Villa, whose goal against Portugal last night took Spain into the quarter finals.
The supposed super six were being paid £500,000 each for competing in a series of skills challenges in front of a live audience for two hours.

Terry Byrne, A:3K director, said 'Both Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney have made it clear they believe it would be inappropriate for them to participate in A:3K at this time.

'We fully understand and respect both players’ decisions. We could have replaced them with two other players but feel the players involved are six of the best in the world - and that is what we promised we would deliver.
'Having consulted all parties involved, everyone agreed the only decision possible was to postpone the event until next summer when we intend to deliver the same six player line-up. Our priority right now is to our customers who have purchased tickets.

'We will be offering a full refund or the option to keep the tickets for next year’s event. Once again all of us at A:3K would like to apologise to our customers, our partners and stakeholders for any inconvenience caused by the postponement.'

Rob Hallett, president of promoters AEG Live, said: 'As a football fan I totally understand and respect Steven and Wayne’s decision to postpone their involvement in A:3K until next year. We look forward to hosting the event at the O2 Arena on the rescheduled date in June 2011.'

WORLD CUP 2010: Cristiano Ronaldo's spitting mad at TV camera after Portugal exit

Spitting mad: Cristiano Ronaldo vents his anger in defeat in the most  unsavoury manner by spitting at TV camerman

Cristiano Ronaldo ook out his frustration by spitting towards a TV camera following Portugal's exit last night.

The Real Madrid winger spat at the feet of a cameraman who was trailing him at the final whistle.
Ronaldo endured a particularly poor night and appeared not to take kindly to being the focus of attention as he trudged off the pitch.


Ask the boss: Unhappy after Portugal's exit and a poor performance  Ronaldo directed post-match questions towards coach Carlos Queiroz

It is a far cry from the last World Cup in Germany when he winked at team-mates after getting Wayne Rooney sent off in Portugal's quarter-final victory over England.

Ronaldo was in no mood to take the blame for the 1-0 loss to Spain and appeared to point the finger at the coach who made him captain, saying only: 'Ask Carlos Queiroz.'

The most expensive player in the history of the game - he cost Real Madrid £80m when he left Manchester United a year ago -  didn't leave a major impression on the World Cup despite all the pre-tournament hype.

His statistics in South Africa tell only part of the story: a late goal in a 7-0 rout of lowly North Korea, some impressive free kicks, and one brilliant turn and shot that struck the post in Portugal's opener against the Ivory Coast.
His performance on and off the ball over six hours of competitive play didn't make him one of the stand out players but Queiroz insisted: 'He is our leader, our captain,' adding the decision to appoint the 25-year-old 'belongs to the federation and the national coach. Because we did that, you must believe we did that for the right reason.'

Ronaldo refused to speak to reporters after the game, joining England's Wayne Rooney and France's Franck Ribery in the list of superstars who will not remember the 2014 World Cup with any great fondness.