Raheem Sterling WILL still get ‘legacy number’ stitched into England shirt to mark 1,000th game despite Gomez row
RAHEEM STERLING will still get his “legacy number” stitched inside his England shirt.
As the 1,190th player to be called up by England, his unique number was meant to be proudly worn under the Three Lions tomorrow at Wembley.
But after getting punished for his canteen bust-up with Joe Gomez he will be axed from the team to face Montenegro instead of celebrated as one of the game-changers for football.
His legacy for England’s 1,000th international will be sitting among the staff behind Gareth Southgate’s bench while the festivities take place.
The FA said: “Every individual to have represented the nation at men’s senior level has their own unique place in the Three Lions’ legacy.”
And it is a huge shame that Sterling will not get to properly soak it up.
Sterling has done more than most yet misses out for a few seconds where his emotions got the better of him.
In one post on social media last season he highlighted the racism running through the game, some of it unconscious and some of it more sinister.
He has been abused by rivals fans, scrutinised in his private life and now axed for a mistake that could easily have been dealt with in-house.
That is normally the stock answer from managers when players step out of line. “We’ll deal with that privately,” they trot out.
Southgate would have questions to answer if he had kept Sterling on the bench but there is also a game against Kosovo a few days later.
SunSport columnist Simon Jordan was on talkSPORT yesterday and weighed up whether this is a “snowflake” reaction.
It is worth bearing in mind that Sterling moved up to Liverpool as a teenager and went into a dressing room with imposing figures.
Strong characters such as Martin Skrtel or European winner Steven Gerrard or Premier League winner Glen Johnson.
Sterling is just 24 but his trophies and the work away from playing means he is already considered like one of the giants he used to look up to.
Yet he will not be hailed as one at Wembley this week.
He will be in that limbo of being punished for his reaction, yet still be part of the England squad.
Harry Kane will lead the team out of the tunnel and Sterling should have been closely behind him.
Sterling should have been one of the faces of an England team that helped fans fall back in love with the game after years into the doldrums.
Instead he will serve as a stark warning to Southgate’s troops of the consequences when emotions run too high.
It will not be swept under the carpet, no matter who you are.
Even if you have scored eight goals in six qualifiers and a Euro 2020 place is not secure yet, you will still get punished.
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Southgate confirmed it was because Sterling was the aggressor and his emotions spilled over.
He added: “It would be correct to say that’s not the same for Joe.”
And that will be the lasting legacy of this week, rather than about the great England players who have donned the Three Lions shirt.