Wayne Rooney swearing complaints rejected

Complaints about Wayne Rooney swearing directly into the camera during TV coverage of Manchester United's victory against West Ham have been dismissed by Ofcom.

Viewers contacted the media regulator after the United striker was seen to say "f**k" while celebrating his hat trick in the match, aired live on Sky Sports.

However, Ofcom judged that what Rooney said was "not clearly audible, and the camera cut away from the scene as soon as it became clear that [his] behaviour was inappropriate".

The watchdog also noted that the Sky Sports commentator apologised after the incident.

In a letter to viewers, Ofcom added: "While we acknowledge that the broadcast of this behaviour during this match was unfortunate, as well as unexpected, we consider that, given the circumstances, Sky acted responsibly and do not find grounds to uphold your complaint."

Rooney accepted a Football Association charge for using offensive language during the game, but not the automatic two-match ban he served after the incident.