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Raheem Sterling defended by Joe Gomez's dad over England stars' canteen bust-up


The father of Joe Gomez says he is proud of his son for how he dealt with the canteen clash with fellow England star Raheem Sterling, which left the Liverpool defender with a scratched face.

And he said he did not blame Sterling for the bust-up, and confirmed that the Man City ace has apologised directly to his son.

Augustus Gomez, 59, said the Three Lions defender is “doing okay” following the incident at St George’s Park on Monday.

He also declared that his son just wants to “smile and be happy” while focusing on football and spending time with his family.

Speaking at his home in south east London, he said Joe was “not expecting” the bust-up with Sterling when he arrived at the Three Lions’ Burton base on Monday – less than 24 hours after the pair clashed during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Man City at Anfield – but he was proud of how he handled the situation.

The pair initially clashed at Anfield on Sunday

Augustus said: “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.”

The noticeable scratch on Gomez’s face

He added: “We just want to see that Joe is happy, that his wife is happy, we are happy and that is it.

When asked if he was upset to hear of his son’s scratch, he said: “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.”

After the flashpoint at Anfield came the incident at St George’s Park

A former Charlton youngster who signed for Liverpool in 2015, 22 year-old Gomez – who has seven England caps to his name so far – is the third of five children who all play football.

Mr Gomez said he advised his son to “stay low” and agreed it is important to him to be a good role model. He added: “I have asked him to stay low.

“As a public figure like him, you need to try and be a public figure for the children, for his friends, his family and so on.

“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.”

Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez in training at St George’s Park

When asked if the incident came as a surprise, Mr Gomez said: “It is a surprise to me and you and everybody.
We want to see our son playing and doing things that he loves to do.

“These things are a surprise, it is not what we want and it is not what he wants.”

Mr Gomez said he and his son’s outlook is to “do good things and be happy” and that he is proud of how he dealt with the situation.

England defender Joe Gomez

He added: “It is something that he has taken from this door.

“He stepped out of this door the day he went to Liverpool and he walked away with that attitude.

“He went and spoke with Gareth Southgate. You don’t have to say ‘yes I’ve got him.’”

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Sterling vs Gomez bust up

England face Montenegro on Thursday in a Euro 2020 qualifier, before taking on Kosovo on Sunday.

Gomez will be hoping to feature at the finals next summer, having missed out on a place in the World Cup in 2018 due to injury.

And Augustus admits it “broke his heart” when Gomez’s dream of a place in Russia taken away from him.

“He was selected to go to Russia, it broke his heart,” he added. “He was selected and he got injured in Holland.

“Everything we booked, everything was cancelled. Nobody wanted that. Those stories of the Euros and whether he is going or not going – he is one of the players.

“If he doesn’t make it, fine; if he makes it, fine. Let him carry on with what he is doing.”





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