England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said he substituted Wayne Rooney in the first half of his side's 1-0 defeat by Spain in an ill-tempered friendly on Wednesday because he feared the young striker would be sent off.

"I took him off because I suspected even a light tackle would mean the referee would send him off," Eriksson told a news conference at the Bernabeu.

"He won't remember this game for scoring three goals but for other things. He's young, he's got things to learn and he's sorry about what he did."

Rooney, 19, was replaced by Alan Smith on the stroke of halftime, with his side 1-0 down, after he had been booked for pushing Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the back as the ball ran off the pitch and then made a late challenge on defender Carlos Marchena.

Eriksson also said Manchester United striker Rooney was wrong to throw his black armband on the ground as he walked off the pitch.

The team wore the armbands in memory of former England players Emlyn Hughes and Keith Weller, who died last week.

"Of course it was a moment of disrespect but it's not the first time this sort of thing has happened in football. He didn't think about the disrespect when he did it, it was just a moment of frustration," said Eriksson.

"I don't want to make a big thing about it but it is better to learn from this and it was good that it was a friendly. I'm not worried about Rooney."