London (AFP)
The English group lose their mark for the Euro 2020 play-off against Montenegro on Thursday, after an altercation with a Liverpool team-mate, Manchester City striker Raheem Sterling said on Tuesday that his "emotions have taken over".
On his Instagram account, Sterling admitted he had "words" with Liverpool defender Joe Gomez a few days after the loss to Anfield (3-1) relegating City to 9 points from the Reds in the title race.
"Joe and I both had words, but we settled the dispute and moved on to something else (...) I'm mature enough to admit when my emotions took over," said the player who is neither sorry nor apologetic after the incident.
Having long dragged a bad boy image in some media, Sterling invited "not to make more important than it is a thing that lasted 5 to 10 seconds".
The incident is, however, serious enough - the press has evoked a "physical confrontation" between the two men, separated by their teammates - for coach Gareth Southgate to choose to do without one of his indisputable holders for a crucial match, since England still has to secure his ticket for the Euro next year.
"One of our greatest challenges and strengths has been to be able to separate the rivalries of clubs and the national team.Unfortunately, the emotions of the (Sunday) match were still alive," Southgate explained in the statement issued late Monday night announcing the sanction.
Gomez and Sterling also had a small altercation at the end of a tense match between their two teams that was very much like a passing witness between the City Holder and the now-grand favorite for the title, Liverpool.
Thursday, England will need only one point against the red lantern of the group, or there is a winner in the match Czech Republic-Kosovo, to ensure its presence at the Euro, whose final will compete at Wembley.
If she does not succeed, she will have a match-cleaver in Kosovo on Sunday.
© 2019 AFP