Manchester United's Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring a goal during the first leg of their Champions League quarter final soccer match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London April 6, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been banned for two matches due to the use of offensive language, the Football Association confirmed on Thursday.

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It means that the 25-year-old forward will miss Saturday's clash with Fulham in the Premier League and the FA Cup semifinal with Manchester City at Wembley.

Rooney accepted the charge for swearing into a TV camera after scoring a hat-trick at West Ham last Saturday, but appealed against the length of the suspension, claiming that "the automatic penalty of two games was clearly excessive".

However, the Regulatory Commission of FA did not accept the claim and asked Rooney to begin the standard two match suspension with immediate effect.

As the suspension only applies to domestic matches, Rooney is still available for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal next Tuesday.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Chelsea, Rooney scored the winner at the Stamford Bridge to sink Chelsea 1-0 on Wednesday.