RAHEEM STERLING is not at fault for the bust-up with Joe Gomez on England duty, the Liverpool defender’s dad has claimed.
Augustus Gomez has revealed his belief that the Manchester City winger was naturally agitated by his side’s 3-1 loss at Anfield and the behaviour of the fans towards him.
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Hours after Sunday’s game, which saw Sterling booed by his former supporters and miss out on a number of key refereeing decisions, he left Gomez with a six-inch scar in an altercation that saw him dropped by manager Gareth Southgate.
But the physical confrontation, which is said to have lasted only around 15 seconds, was no problem for Gomez Snr.
Augustus told The Mirror: “He wasn’t expecting it, it happened, he brushed it away and he carried on.
“He trained today, he is fine apart from the scratch on his face.
“He is fine, he is definitely fine. I spoke to him, I spoke to his agent; let him just be happy and smiling and so-forth. He is very passionate about what he does.
“Raheem apologised.”
With the England meeting so soon after the Premier League title clash, Gomez feels it would have been Liverpool stars in a similar mood had the result been reversed.
He added: “It is normal. Young people are very ambitious and very willing to win for their team and that is what happens.
“If Liverpool were losing, one of the players would be agitated as well.
“Raheem Sterling – it is not his fault. Fans were agitating him and he took it out because of his frustration.
“We all understand that; it is football, we are human beings.”
Joe Gomez has been described as a softly-spoken character since details of the incident emerged.
And his father insists that he “keeps his head low” to focus on his football and family.
Augustus continued: “He wants to be like a normal person and run around like normal on the pitch, smile and be happy, go home, be with his wife and his son.
“His main focus now is to play football and to forget about the hype. It is something he does not want to talk about. He keeps his head low.”
