England’s Southgate plays down clash between players
A training camp altercation between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez was likened to a family argument by England manager Gareth Southgate on Tuesday after the players’ club rivalry spilled over into the international arena.
A day after they clashed on the field during a high-profile Premier League game between Manchester City and Liverpool, Sterling and Gomez were involved in what the English Football Association described as a “disturbance in a private team area” after they joined up with the national team on Monday.
Sterling was apparently the aggressor in the exchange — the winger acknowledged in a post on Instagram that “emotions got the better of me” — and was dropped by Southgate for the European Championship qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday.
“Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on,” Sterling wrote.
Southgate took a conciliatory tone after bringing forward his planned media appearance by 24 hours to address the issue.
“I love all of my players,” he said. “We are like a family and all family have disagreements. Most important for any family is to come through those disagreements and work through them. I don’t expect as a manager to never have to deal with things that are unexpected or difficult.
“It’s part and parcel of the job and part and parcel of working with elite players. Our focus now is to move forward.”
Southgate appeared to absolve Gomez of any blame in the incident, saying: “Raheem in his post last night explained for a very brief moment his emotions ran over. It would be correct to say that’s not the same for Joe.”
Southgate did not elaborate on an apparent scratch beneath Gomez’s right eye that was seen as he trained on Tuesday, or suggestions that Sterling
was initially sent home before being summoned back to camp at the national training center at St. George’s Park in the West Midlands.
Ukrainian police looking for fans accused of racial abuse
KHARKIV, UKRAINE » Ukrainian police want to identify and find about 20 Dynamo Kyiv fans as part of an investigation into racist abuse directed at Shakhtar Donetsk player Taison.
The Brazilian midfielder left the field in tears after reacting to the abuse in Sunday’s game by showing an obscene gesture and kicking the ball in the direction of Dynamo’s fans.