The British attacker leaves the concentration of the Southgate team because of the robbery when his wife and three children were in the house
England striker Raheem Sterling missed Sunday night’s World Cup round of 16 match between his team and Senegal due to a “family issue” and has returned to his country. That “family problem”, according to several British sources, is the armed robbery at home when only his wife and three young children were there. “He has a family problem and I had a good time with him this morning (Sunday), but I left other people to help him with that problem,” said Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate. “He’s going back (to England) to deal with it and then we’ll see what happens,” he added when asked if the winger could return to Qatar.
According to the English press, several armed men broke into the player’s house in Surrey, south London, when his partner and their three children were in the house. “Obviously the priority for him is to be with his family and we are going to support him for that. We will give you as much time as you need,” added Southgate. “I don’t want to put pressure on him. Sometimes football is not the most important thing and the family comes first,” the coach concluded.
The 27-year-old Chelsea striker started the first two group games and scored once in Iran’s opening 6-2 defeat. England, who defeated Senegal 3-0 in the round of 16, will meet defending champion France in the quarter-finals on Friday.
It’s not the first time something like this has happened to Sterling. In November 2018, while at Guardiola’s City, he was already the victim of an attempted robbery at his home in Cheshire.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
