Shaun Rooney leaves St Mirren after being charged with assaulting teenager in Glasgow takeaway

Shaun Rooney has left St Mirren by mutual consent after being charged with allegedly assaulting a teenager in a takeaway in Glasgow.

Rooney had been suspended last month after police confirmed that he had been arrested and charged in connection with an assault on an 18-year-old woman.

The 28-year-old was also charged with a breach of the peace, treated as a hate crime, against an 18-year-old man.

Former St Johnstone player Rooney returned to Scotland in the summer following a spell with Fleetwood Town in England.

He has made ten appearances for Stephen Robinson’s side this season and scored on his debut in the Europa Conference League qualifier against Valur.

A club statement read: “St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Shaun Rooney has left the club by mutual consent.

“The club will make no further comment.”

A spokesperson for the force said: “A 28-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with an assault on an 18-year-old woman and a breach of the peace against an 18-year-old man in takeaway premises on Queen Street, Glasgow, in the early hours of Thursday, September 19, 2024.

“He has been released on an undertaking to appear at court at a later date. A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”

Manager Stephen Robinson said ahead of the William Hill Premiership game against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday: “The club have made a statement. My job is to focus solely on football and that’s what I’m doing, and that’s what we have done for the last few weeks to try to get results and move forward.

“The situation has been ongoing for four-five weeks now. Players deal with it, they are very robust.

“You control the things you can control and we control what happens on the pitch. There are lots of things we can improve on and continue to be good at, and that is my sole focus.

“Obviously it is not an ideal situation. I have lost a player that we can’t really replace until January, so that is an issue for us with the injuries that we have got, with Richard Taylor having surgery and Charles Dunne a big doubt for Saturday.

“It leaves us slightly short but we will be fine. There are other boys doing well, there are some younger players coming through and it is up to the boys to step in.

“I always believe that it gives boys an opportunity when injuries and situations arise that keeps people out of the team. It is up to people to embrace that and take that opportunity.

“As I say, I have dealt with it the last four weeks that we haven’t had Shaun available, and it is up to me to make sure we deal with that and rectify that in the January window, if we feel we have to bring somebody else in or the younger players are not quite ready yet.”