Steven Gerrard has urged fans not to blame Wayne Rooney for England's early exit from the World Cup.

The Manchester United striker was sent off after tangling with Ricardo Carvalho and Cristiano Ronaldo 62 minutes in to Saturday's quarter-final clash against Portugal, which England eventually lost on penalties.

Gerrard remembers the way David Beckham was vilified for his red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup and does not want to see his friend Rooney suffer in the same way.

"Wayne has been fantastic for us. We can't blame Wayne. He has done so much for this team and he is going to do so much for this team in the future," said the Liverpool midfielder.

"I haven't seen Wayne but when I see him I will give him a big hug because he is my team-mate and he is getting no blame from me because I love him.

"I thought it was a melee and I walked away from it thinking Wayne was going to get a foul in his favour. He had two or three men all over him and I can't believe he never got the foul before whatever happened kicked off.

"There is talk of him stamping on someone. I'll have to have a look at it but you guys will make your judgement on it."