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Sterling still a big character for England – Chilwell

SoccerNews in English Premier League 12 Nov 2019

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Raheem Sterling will continue to be an influential figure for England despite the fallout from his spat with international team-mate Joe Gomez, says Three Lions left-back Ben Chilwell.

Sterling has been dropped for Thursday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro after an altercation with Gomez at England’s St George’s Park training base on Monday.

Manchester City forward Sterling and Liverpool defender Gomez clashed on the field during the Reds’ 3-1 win over the reigning Premier League champions at Anfield on Sunday and the 24-year-old conceded his “emotions got the better of me” in a social media post relating to the incident.

Gomez and Sterling both trained with England on Tuesday, the latter remaining with Southgate’s squad for Sunday’s trip to Kosovo.

Leicester defender Chilwell spoke at a news conference after the session and alluded to Sterling’s growing stature as an influential figure on and off the field for club and country of late.

“It’s very easy to forget how much Raheem’s done positively for English football over the past year or two,” he said.

“Yeah, he’s made a mistake but he’s still a very big character in the dressing room and a very important character for us in the dressing room.”

Chilwell revealed Sterling and Gomez both spoke at a team meeting on Monday and insisted the squad were behind Southgate’s decision.

“Gareth obviously spoke about the situation and spoke about what he thought. He also wanted to know what we thought of it as well,” he said.

“Joe and Raheem got the chance to talk as well, which they both wanted to do.

“Raheem was apologetic. He said it’s not in his nature – which it’s not – but we all know as football players that emotions can run high.

“There’s no one trying to make excuses for him, including himself, but two days ago was a very emotional game. Two great sides battling it out. Things are going to get heated. They’ve both moved on and both squashed it.

“Gareth didn’t want to make the decision himself. He wanted to come to the right decision with the leadership group.

“Obviously it got spoken about between the leadership group and Gareth, and the decision has been made and we’re all very on board with that.”

This flashpoint comes on the back of the far more serious matter of England players, including Sterling, being subjected to racist abuse during last month’s 6-0 win in Bulgaria.

Chilwell believes Southgate’s squad will be able to draw strength from such moments of adversity.

“I think it does help us a lot,” he added. It’s very easy to look at it in a negative light – with the Bulgaria game and what’s gone on over the last few days.

“But with how close we are as a squad, I think it’s very easy to spin it into a positive.

“It’s going to make us stronger hopefully going into [Euro 2020] if we can win these next few games.”

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