Rio Ferdinand says Gareth Southgate has got it wrong dropping Raheem Sterling following his altercation with Joe Gomez.
Sterling has been axed for England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday after a heated exchange with Gomez at St George’s Park yesterday. Ferdinand has criticised the England boss for his handling of the situation and said the matter should have been dealt with internally.
Ferdinand believes Southgate has now left Sterling open to criticism in the public spotlight. The former England defender said: “Gareth has handled being England manager brilliantly — up to this point. However, I feel this incident could have been handled better. Keep it behind closed doors and deal with it internally, surely.
“Obviously as a manager I am sure having a harmonious squad is the best scenario — handshakes and hugs on sight, not confrontations. But this kind of stuff is not uncommon in squads full of testosterone.
“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 and discipline. But for this ‘throat grab’ that we are told it is for, I can’t understand it.
“Gareth would no doubt had seen worse during his time as a player and manager. I just feel this could and should have been handled better to support the player and 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.
"Hindsight is a great thing, though. It seems to me, Raheem felt embarrassed by all that went on at the weekend, a sign of a winning mentality, however channelled wrongly. Help educate him.”
Gary Neville, though, believes Southgate has made the right decision.
Neville told Sky Sports: “There is nothing worse than sweeping it under the carpet and then all the players going back to their rooms and having that feeling that they are all talking about you being weak, and that you have not dealt with it because he is a big player.
“So I feel that it’s the right decision.Southgate’s message is clear: he won’t accept club rivalry coming into England.”
