Raheem Sterling has been sensationally axed for England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro after a bust-up with Joe Gomez.
The Man City forward confronted the Liverpool defender on his arrival at St George’s Park on Monday as tensions spilled over from Sunday’s Premier League encounter between the title rivals.
Sterling had to be pulled away by shocked England teammates after squaring up to Gomez in a private team area at their training base.
A statement from the Football Association confirmed an incident had occurred and that Gareth Southgate had subsquently decided not to consider Sterling for this week’s clash at Wembley.
The statement from the FA read: “The FA can confirm Raheem Sterling will not be considered for Thursday’s EURO 2020 qualifier against Montenegro as a result of a disturbance in a private team area at St. George’s Park today. He will remain with the squad.”
It is a remarkable situation and is sure to dominate the build-up to Thursday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro, which not only offers the chance to seal progress but is England’s 1,000th international fixture.
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England boss 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.”
Sterling issued an apology in the early hours of Tuesday morning, admitting emotions had got the better of him but insisting he had cleared the air with Gomez.
It read: “First and foremost everyone knows what that game means to me. 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.”
Sterling has been in exceptional form for England, scoring eight goals and providing five assists during Euro 2020 qualification.
Gomez, who was introduced as an 87th-minute substitute on Sunday, won the last of his seven England senior caps in the Nations League third-place play-off against Switzerland in June.
