As he made his way off the pitch following the goalless draw with Algeria, a result that leaves England's qualification hopes hanging by a thread, Rooney turned to a television camera and condemned the fans who had booed the Three Lions' performance, before swearing.

After reflecting on his conduct overnight, Rooney admitted he had gone over the top. "On reflection I said things in the heat of the moment that came out of frustration of both our performance and the result," Rooney said in a statement issued by the Football Association.

"For my part I apologise for any offence caused by my actions at the end of the game."

Rooney was particularly ineffective as he stretched his barren scoring run for his country to 10 hours of football.

The dire performance prompted some sections of the travelling England support to boo their team as they left the pitch.

Rooney reacted and turned to say to the television cameras: "It's nice to see your own fans booing you."

Algeria, who had looked nervous in their opening 1-0 defeat by Slovenia, were good value for their draw and for long spells looked the sharper of the two teams.

England's final game against Slovenia is in Port Elizabeth while Algeria take on the USA in Pretoria, both on June 23.

Reuters