Rooney faces nightclub fight investigation

England striker Wayne Rooney is to be quizzed by detectives in connection with an early morning fight outside a nightclub in northern England, police said yesterday.

Officers are to interview Rooney, 21, about a reported incident that occurred outside the Panacea bar in Manchester city centre last month.

"An appointment will be made for a 21-year-old man to attend a Greater Manchester Police station to be questioned in connection with an incident on Sunday October 15," Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

The People newspaper said on Sunday that the incident occurred after the Manchester United striker had been at a celebrity party to mark boxer Joe Calzaghe retaining his WBO super-middleweight title in a bout in the city.

It said Rooney had become involved in a confrontation with a paparazzo photographer as he left the bar.

Police said the player had not been arrested and the man involved did not require any medical treatment but had reported the matter.

It is not the first time that Rooney has faced a police probe into his behaviour.

In March, an investigation into claims the striker had assaulted a student in a bar in Manchester were dropped after the man decided not to press charges.