Raheem Sterling news: England are a family and all families have disagreements, says Gareth Southgate

Southgate admitted several players intervened and praised the senior members of his squad for their maturity, but he refused to be drawn on the details of the incident

Sterling has been dropped for the next England international (Getty)

Gareth Southgate has played down Raheem Sterling’s altercation with Joe Gomez which drew the manager to drop the Manchester City forward for Thursday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro, insisting England “are like a family, and all families have disagreements”.

Gomez emerged at training on Tuesday morning with a scratch under his right eye following an incident in the squad’s private quarters 24 hours earlier. Sterling shouted and grabbed at the centre-back, in a continuation of their clash during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over City on Sunday.

Southgate admitted several players intervened and praised the senior members of his squad for their maturity, but he refused to be drawn on the details of the incident and whether or not he had initially chosen to banish Sterling from the camp before later changing his mind.

“I’m dealing with a very young squad in a sport where emotions run high,” said Southgate, speaking at St George’s Park. “Raheem explained that his emotions ran over for a brief moment. It would be correct to say that was not the same for Joe.

“I’m not prepared to go into detail. There is enough conjecture and opinion and talk out there, we don’t need to add that. We’ve dealt with this as a group, we’ve decided the best way forward.”

Asked whether he felt let down by Sterling, who is part of the team’s leadership group, Southgate said: “I love all of my players. We are like a family, and all families have disagreements. The most important thing is that you communicate through those disagreements. I expect as a manger to deal with things that are unexpected or difficult, that’s part and parcel of working with elite players.”

The former England defender Rio Ferdinand criticised Southgate’s handling of the incident, and said the matter should have been kept internally to protect Sterling and prevent him from being “hung out to dry”. But Southgate said the issue would have had to be addressed eventually.

“In the end it’s going to be public anyway so I’d rather deal with it now, so as a group we could move on. We are the England team, and I understand our public profile. There is an insatiable interest in what goes on in our camp. That’s the reality of why things become public that in a club wouldn’t do.

Gomez and Sterling together at England training on Tuesday (Getty)

“It’s important to be fair as possible, whether that’s towards a senior play or a junior player. A number of senior players have been involved in the discussions, but I’m the manager and I’ve had to make some decisions.​

“It’s not for me to discuss the details of the incident. In the end I always have to find the right solution for the group, and that’s a very difficult line. You try to be fair, but in the end I’m the manager. I’ve made a decision, and I think it was appropriate for moving forward. Of course he is a very important player for us but I felt that was the right thing to do.”

Sterling will watch from the sidelines when England take on Montenegro at Wembley, where a win will see them through to the tournament, before rejoining the playing squad for Sunday’s trip to Kosovo.