Former Wales international Danny Gabbidon has offered up a humorous theory as to why Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Liverpool defender Joe Gomez reportedly had a bust up.
The Daily Mail published a story on Monday, since verified by England boss Gareth Southgate, stating that Sterling went for Gomez after the Reds star came to greet him on Three Lions duty.
The pair were involved in a fiery confrontation during Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday, and emotions were still raw on Monday.
BBC pundit Gabbidon has jokingly given his theory: “I can only think that Gomez bashed Sterling up on FIFA by a similar score line to yesterday! Seen many a man switch after a skooling on that game!,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account.
I can only think that Gomez bashed Sterling up on FIFA by a similar score line to yesterday! Seen many a man switch after a skooling on that game! ?
— Daniel Gabbidon (@Gabbidon35) November 11, 2019
OPINION
Gabbidon obviously is attempting to be funny, and he’s right! There are plenty of people who have flipped out after being well beaten on FIFA, we’ve all experienced that kind of incident. However, what the Sterling-Gomez bust up demonstrates is that club rivalries are not easy to put aside when on international duty. We’ve heard stories in the past about Real Madrid and Barcelona players separating themselves from each other while with the Spain squad, while people like Rio Ferdinand have spoken about the club divide that was prevalent in old England squads. The rivalry between Liverpool and Man City has gotten so intense in recent years, and is now surely at its height, and so it’s inevitable that that is going to make things slightly awkward while on international duty. That doesn’t excuse what Sterling did, of course, but it would be a surprise if nothing like this ever happened again. Still, it’s been dealt with now so hopefully there’s no long-term repercussions for England.
