Wayne Rooney sent off by VAR for forearm smash to opponent's face in DC United defeat

Wayne Rooney's American adventure took another turn on Wednesday night, as England's all-time record goalscorer was sent off.

Rooney was dismissed in the 24th minute of DC United's 2-1 loss to New York Red Bulls, following a VAR review.

Days after being involved in an altercation with the fourth official in Vancouver - as DC fell to a 1-0 loss to the Whitecaps - Rooney was dismissed for hitting Red Bulls' defender Christian Casseres with his forearm.

At an NYRB corner, Casseres attempted to block Rooney as he attempted to follow his man along the six yard box; Rooney raised his arm and ran it into the jaw of Casseres.

Rooney looks to stick with his man, but is blocked and thrusts his forearm (MLS)

The incident was missed by the match official, Ismail Elfath.

However, he had it called to his attention, and after consulting the pitchside monitor, elected to dismiss Rooney.

It was the second red card of his MLS career, which will come to an end this year, after Rooney agreed to join Derby County in January.

Former US international Taylor Twellman declared "Rooney has been “something else” since announcing he’s leaving."

But Rooney insisted he shouldn't have been dismissed.

Asked post-game why he thought he had been shown red, Rooney said: “Ask the referee. I think anyone who knows the game of football can see what the intent was. It was to try to ease the player out.

“I'm disappointed because I got a red card and disappointed because I didn’t agree with the decision.”

Rooney leaves the field (USA TODAY Sports)

United's regular-season schedule now has just six matches remaining, and they are not certain to reach the play-offs after a disappointing recent run.

Seven teams in each conference move into the post-season, and while United are currently fifth, they only sit five points clear of eighth place Orlando City.

Elsewhere, New York City FC defeated Columbus Crew 1-0, thanks to Valentin Castellanos' 10th goal of the campaign.

Victory for NYCFC moved them to within one point of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, LAFC thrashed the San Jose Earthquakes 4-0 to extend their winning streak to five games.

Former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela scored two while Diego Rossi and Josh Perez also found the back of the net for Bob Bradley's MLS Cup favourites.