Ferdinand criticises Southgate over Sterling saga
BURTON ON TRENT, England England manager Gareth Southgate attempted to draw a line under the altercation between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez saying he took ultimate responsibility for the decision to drop Footballer of the Year Sterling.
Yet the England manager, who has made much of the unity and team spirit inside his camp since he took charge in 2016, said he was concerned about the leaking of information to the media and faced criticism from Rio Ferdinand for going public over the incident. Sterling, one of Southgate’s key players, was dropped from the squad to face Montenegro at Wembley after a clash with Gomez at the St. George’s Park training ground.
The pair had squared off at Anfield in the Premier League on Monday where Sterling’s Manchester City were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool, with Gomez coming on as a late substitute.
Southgate had said in a statement on Monday that his decision had been backed by the “agreement of the entire squad”.
Yet, speaking at an unscheduled news conference, the England manager made clear the decision was one for which he took responsibility.
“I have discussions with all of my staff and the leadership group but ultimately I am the manager,” he said. “It is not for me to discuss the details of the incident, there is nothing to be gained from that. In the end I have to find the right solution for the group. That’s a difficult line, you try to be fair when dealing with all players. I won’t always get that right but I am the manager,” added Southgate.
Several versions of the incident have appeared in the British media and Southgate sounded frustrated by the leaks.
“Now, there seems to be all sorts of information being passed from so many different areas,” he said.
“I have said what needs to be said publicly but we have to keep as much as we can between ourselves.”
England fullback Ben Chilwell said that Sterling had apologised for his actions.