RIO FERDINAND has slammed Gareth Southgate for hanging Raheem Sterling out to dry after the England winger’s scuffle with Joe Gomez.
Manchester City winger Sterling was dropped by England yesterday afternoon after reportedly squaring up to his Liverpool rival.
On Wednesday morning, Ferdinand hammered manager Southgate with a statement on Facebook that read: “GARETH has handled being England manager brilliantly – up to this point.
“He has conducted himself in a admirable, eloquent & engaging way. Helping to make a Nation feel like they can have some sort of confidence & respect for the national team. However, I feel this incident could have been handled better.
“Keep it behind closed doors & deal with it internally surely?! Come International Week, its meet up time between Sterling & Gomez… Raheem Sterling was still upset with Gomez about the result on Sunday & their little pushing/words said during the Liverpool vs City game.
“So he has obviously gone into the England camp heated & gone for Gomez, in doing so grabbed Gomez by the throat. Obviously as a manager Im sure having a harmonious squad is the best scenario – handshakes and hugs on sight not confrontations. But lets be honest now this kind of stuff isnt uncommon in squads full of testosterone.
“In the various squads I have been a part of I have seen players get punched in the face, ribs broken, nose busted, head kicked like a football…..a throat grab was the equivalent of the intricate handshake embraces that are all too familiar today!
“The main question is: Why this couldnt be handled internally?
“I suppose the management have felt it would be better to nip it in the bud prior to the press, agents, family friends leaking the news. However, the worst case on this instance would have been someone asking in a press conference what happened between Raheem & Gomez, we heard there was a fight.
“Easy answer we have a game to concentrate on. Incident done and dusted. No player looks any worse, we move on.Now Raheem is left to defend himself from all of the haters that had had their keyboards turned off due to him becoming a very worthy ambassador for the English game, and rightly so.
“If this was a terrible incident then I would be all for public shaming & discipline. But for this throat grab that we are TOLD its for I cant understand it.
“Gareth would no doubt had seen worse many times during his time as a player and manager. I just feel this could and should have been handled better to support the player & not hang him out to dry.
“One of our World Class players who has conducted himself wonderfully through Racism and unwarranted criticism in an England shirt will now come under more scrutiny and be vilified in the media no doubt – when this could have been dealt with internally. Hindsight is a great thing though.
It seems to me, Raheem felt embarrassed by all that went on at the weekend…. a sign of winning mentality….. however channelled wrongly. Help educate him!”
The incident happened almost as soon as the wide-man arrived at St George’s Park, just hours after their Premier League title clash at Anfield.
Fellow players are understood to have first seen the coming together as a joke, Sterling asking Gomez if he thought he “was still the big man” before allegedly attempting to grab his neck – at which point teammates intervened.
A crisis meeting was held and the City man apologised, allowing him to keep his place in the squad but without being considered for Thursday’s home game with Montenegro.
With Sterling releasing a statement admitting his “emotions got the better of him”, the 24-year-old is reportedly “upset” by the whole incident.
On Tuesday morning, Ferdinand had left fans waiting with bated breath when tweeting: “Im gonna finish my gym session and get back to this Sterling and Gomez farce… back in a bit!”
Ferdinand played during a time when the Three Lions’ Golden Generation were beset by club rivalries.
With United fiercely competing against Chelsea, Arsenal and Co. for the title, cliques sprang up as players didn’t trust eachother.
Speaking before the 2018 World Cup, he recalled: “Our rivalries were sustained over a long period of time, they were embedded in us.
“I was a rival with Frank [Lampard], John Terry, Ashley Cole for years.
“It wasnt an overnight thing. I was rivals with Sol Campbell and Martin Keown, [Jamie] Carragher and [Steven] Gerrard, for years.
He predicted at the time: “If we look three years down the line and Man Utd and Man City are going at it all the time, you can understand that might come into it. But I think this is a clean slate here.”
