Wayne Rooney holds back tears on live TV as brother John leads Macclesfield to FA Cup upset

Wayne Rooney fought back tears after his brother John led Macclesfield Town to a historic FA Cup third round victory over Crystal Palace.

The non-league side produced one of the greatest shocks in the history of the competition, knocking out the holders on Saturday afternoon.

117 places separate Palace in the Premier League and Macclesfield who play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football.

Former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney was part of the BBC punditry team at Moss Rose.

After the final whistle, home fans raced onto the pitch to celebrate with the players. While the cameras remained fixed on the Macclesfield celebrations, Rooney was heard choking up as he paid tribute to brother John.

‘I’m getting emotional here watching my younger brother achieve this,’ Rooney said.

‘He’s not long been in management and to get through to the fourth round and beat Crystal Palace, a Premier League team, I am so proud of him.’

Macclesfield took an incredible lead two minutes before half-time with Paul Dawson guiding a header home from a free kick.

The Silkmen doubled their lead on the hour mark with Isaac Buckley-Ricketts improvising brilliantly to deceive Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

With just minutes left on the clock, Palace won a free kick on the edge of the box with Jeremy Pino curling home a superb effort to set up the nervy finish.

But Macclesfield stood strong to book their place in the next round.
In terms of the number of league places separating the two sides, Macclesfield’s triumph stands as the biggest upset in the FA Cup’s grand history.

‘I can’t believe it, we never thought we would be in this position,’ John Rooney said.

‘We were incredible from the first minute. I thought we were deserved winners. I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads.

‘I couldn’t have asked any more of them and you can see the joy in them.’

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