Published 05:36 IST, November 12th 2019
Sterling dropped for EURO Qualifier after training ground bust-up
Manchester City midfielder Raheem Sterling has been dropped from the England squad for Thursday's qualifier against Montenegro after a training ground tussle
In surprising and quick developments in the England National squad, head coach Gareth Southgate has announced that Raheem Sterling will not be involved in the EURO 2020 qualifier against Montenegro, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 14. The 24-year old, however, will be with the National team.
Sterling dropped, but still in the squad
A statement by the Football Association (FA) said that the decision was taken because of a "disturbance in a private team area at St. George’s Park today." St George's park is the training centre of the England National Football team. In the statement, Southgate said, "We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday. One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we’ve been able to separate club rivalries from the national team. Unfortunately, the emotions of yesterday’s game were still raw. My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken. Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it’s important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night.”
Emotions were running high during an important clash between Sunday's match between Manchester City and Liverpool, and these emotions have carried on to the National camp. Towards the end of Liverpool's 3-1 win over City, Sterling and Gomez were involved in an incident, where Sterling tried to nick the ball of the Liverpool player in an aggressive manner, which lead to Gomez squaring up and pushing the City midfielder. The two players came nose-to-nose and said a few words, however, the incident did not spiral then since their teammates separated the two players.
Liverpool's win helped the Merseyside club go eight points clear at the top of the table and nine points clear of the two time defending Champions Man City.
Updated 07:11 IST, November 12th 2019