Raheem Sterling asked Joe Gomez if he was ‘still the big man’ during his heated clash with the Liverpool defender on England duty.
The Manchester City winger has been dropped by England manager Gareth Southgate for the Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday.
Both players squared up to each other during Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over City in the Premier League on Sunday, although they did embrace after the match had ended.
But when the two met in England’s camp, Sterling is said to have reacted angrily after he was approached by Gomez in the players’ canteen at St George’s Park.
According to reports, Sterling is understood to have attempted to grab Gomez by the neck and asked ‘you still the big man?’.
Initially, other England players who witnessed the incident thought Sterling was joking before they stepped in to break up the altercation.
Sterling has since apologised to Gomez and the rest of the England squad, but he will play no part of the match against Montenegro on Thursday.
However, the City winger has not been kicked out of England’s squad and could feature against Kosovo on Sunday.
‘First and foremost everyone knows what that game means to me,’ Sterling posted on Instagram on Monday evening.
‘Everyone knows that I am not that way inclined and more to the point.
‘Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on.
‘We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me.
‘We move this is why we play this sport because of our love for it.
‘Me and @JoeGomez5 are good, we both understand it was a 5-10 second thing, it’s done we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.
‘Let’s get focus on our game on Thursday.’
In a statement released by the Football Association, 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.’
