Three lions on their shirts ... it’s Team Rooney
HE’S not quite five months old, but Kit Rooney was watching as keenly as everyone else yesterday as England’s lions slayed the Welsh dragon in football’s Battle of Britain.
Wayne Rooney’s youngest son – in an England shirt – nestled in his mother Coleen’s arms at the stadium in Lens during the enthralling Euro 2016 clash.
The England captain’s wife didn’t have him all the time, however, leaving her free to react as she watched the drama unfold with son Kai, six, and his brother Klay, three.
Jamie Vardy’s wife Rebekah showed her allegiance by wearing an England shirt and celebrated wildly as the man she married last month got one goal before Daniel Sturridge scored the late winner.
Both England and Wales came to a virtual standstill to watch the game from northern France on television. It is estimated to have cost the economy £200million in lost productivity as millions took time off. Pubs across the country filled up and busy centres became ghost towns after the 2pm kick off. Schools allowed pupils to watch in class and companies organised TV rooms for staff who did turn up.
Before the game Peter Mooney, of employment law specialist ELAS, estimated a third of the UK’s 30million workers would be willing to miss work to watch the game.
He said: ‘Considering an average wage of £13 an hour, the cost to the economy from this game alone could easily exceed £200million.’
Two Britons were arrested in Lens before the match but there was a carnival atmosphere both inside and outside the ground as most of the 40,000 England and Wales fans sang and mixed together.
‘Millions took time off’