Derby County will not face action over Wayne Rooney’s No 32 shirt number Exclusive: Despite accusations of ‘crafty’ tie-in with club sponsor 32Red, the FA says move does not contravene its rules

Wayne Rooney and Derby County will not face action from the Football Association in relation to the striker being allocated the squad number 32, which had been suggested was chosen to promote the club’s sponsors, betting company 32Red.

The move attracted fierce criticism last summer when it was claimed the bookmakers were essentially funding the player’s transfer after he agreed an 18-month deal to become player-coach at the club.

Rooney is said to be earning around £90,000 per week, considerably more than the average Championship player. The governing body monitored the situation and held talks with Derby but i has learned it is unable to take any action over the deal as it does not breach its advertising rules and regulations. After discussions the FA were comfortable that there is no direct contractual arrangement between Rooney and 32Red, and that the deal was solely between Derby and the online casino.

Derby owner Mel Morris admitted the club secured a record-breaking deal with 32Red following the announcement that Rooney would be joining the club. “Obviously, the commercial opportunities this creates are widespread and significant,” Morris said. “On the back of Wayne joining the club, we have just been offered a record-breaking sponsorship deal with our principal shirt sponsor, 32Red.”

Derby announced the signing on Twitter with a short video heavily promoting the fact Rooney was wearing the number 32, despite the fact it seemingly has no relevance to his career and that shirt numbers 7, 12, 13, 15 and 18, the latter of which he wore when he broke through at Everton as a teenager, were also available.

The video included several references to the #WR32 hashtag the club created to mark the news. It repeatedly appeared alongside 32Red’s logo.

FA rules state that gambling sponsor logos must not appear on kits or training clothes for children, but this appears to have been circumvented by ensuring that Rooney’s No 32 – the same number in Derby’s gambling sponsor’s name – will appear on the back of children’s shirts, many of whom will idolise the striker.

Clubs’ Under 18 players are also not allowed to have any gambling sponsors on their shirts or training kits.

The FA also has strict regulations about the size of advertising logos allowed on adult shirts, and the governing body were urged by anti-gambling campaigners to investigate the Rooney deal to determine whether the shirt number constituted an advert for the online casino.

It is, however, extremely difficult to prove a direct link between Rooney being allocated the number 32 shirt and the sponsors 32Red.

The Rooney deal, which cost in total around £7.8million, was described as “very crafty” by the sports minister Nigel Adams. Other experts said Derby, Rooney and 32Red were exploiting a loophole in the law. The move was also condemned by the Church of England.

At the time, 32Red insisted the deal complied with FA regulations and a spokesman said: “As Wayne Rooney said himself during his press conference, the squad number means nothing. The number is a separate issue to the logo.

“The number is not important. Other players also wear the number in the Championship – 32Red don’t have a trademark on the number 32.”

Rooney, 34, was named captain by Derby manager Phillip Cocu and has played three times for Derby, twice in the Championship and once in the FA Cup, since he switched from Major League Soccer side DC United.

The former England and Manchester United striker even admitted he suffered from his own gambling problems earlier in his career. “You’re there to play for your country or club and when you’re losing money the way I was then it will affect you,” he said, in a video he and 32Red made to promote responsible gambling ahead of his debut as part of the Stay in Control campaign. “Thankfully I managed to pay up what I lost and I didn’t gamble again. I’ve learned from my mistakes. If you carry on gambling, you lose more. That’s when you can get sucked into a bad situation.”

In the Championship, 17 of 24 clubs have a betting logo on their shirts, while half of the 20 Premier League teams also display them.

Rooney and Derby responded to this story with no comment.

This article has been updated to clarify the source of Rooney’s quotes on his gambling problems.