England players 'shocked' by the decision to drop Raheem Sterling | OneFootball

The England squad have been left “shocked” by Gareth Southgate’s decision to drop Raheem Sterling for Thursday’s game with Montenegro following a training ground bust-up with Joe Gomez.

That’s according to the Daily Mail, who report on Tuesday that the players feel Southgate has over-reacted to the incident, which is said to have occurred at St George’s Park on Monday following Liverpool’s Premier League encounter with Manchester City on Sunday.

Sterling and Gomez exchanged angry words during the game at Anfield – which Liverpool won 3-1 – and according to numerous reports, the feud is said to have spilled over when the pair met up on international duty the following day.

Sterling is said to have walked into the canteen to find Gomez laughing with a number of England players, and the Manchester City winger is reported to have said: “You think you’re the big man now”.

Sterling is then said to have tried to grab Gomez by the neck, leaving the other players present shocked and stunned, especially as the pair had apparently made peace immediately after Sunday’s game.

Three Lions boss Southgate released an official statement on Monday in which he announced Sterling had been dropped from the squad for the EURO 2020 qualifier with Montenegro as a direct result of the incident.

“We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday,” read Southgate’s statement released by the FA.

“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.”

However, Sterling is said to have apologised and the Daily Mail report the rest of the squad would have preferred it if the matter had not been made public.

Jordan Henderson is believed to have been the peace-maker between Sterling and Gomez and though the Liverpool captain is suspended for the Montenegro fixture, he has reportedly volunteered to travel to St George’s Park to speak to the pair.

And in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Sterling released a statement of his own via his official Instagram.

“We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me,” wrote the 24-year-old.

“Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on.”