Wayne Rooney was arrested in December for public intoxication after mixing sleeping pills with alcohol, US media unearths

Footballer Wayne Rooney was arrested on account of public intoxication before Christmas in the state of Virginia, US media has uncovered.

The ace soccer star was arrested and booked into the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center in Leesburg on December 16. CNN reported citing court documents that Rooney was booked for public swearing/intoxication, which is considered a misdemeanor crime under Virginia law.

The footballer, who currently plays for DC United in the MLS, was arrested by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police (MWAA), the agency that operates Reagan National and Dulles International airports. He was subsequently released on a personal recognisance bond, said an official from Loudoun County. As per statements issued by Rooney's spokespersons, the former Manchester United striker had taken a prescribed amount of sleeping pills while on a flight, which when mixed with alcohol made him disorientated. Rooney has also stated his appreciation for the manner in which everyone involved handled the matter,

This isn't the first time that Rooney was nabbed for an alcohol-related charge. The Former England captain was slapped with a two-year ban from driving after he pleaded guilty to a drink-driving offence in a British court in September 2017.

The 31-year-old had admitted to being almost three times over the limit in what he described as a "terrible mistake".
Besides suspension, Rooney had been slapped with a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work. He had also been fined two weeks' wages by his then Premier League club Everton, reportedly an amount of worth £300,000.