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Danny Rose believes the spat between England team-mates Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez has been blown out of proportion and insists similar incidents take place on a daily basis.
The Football Association announced on Monday that Sterling would not be considered for Thursday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro, following an incident involving Gomez at the team’s St George’s Park training camp.
The pair had been involved in an on-field clash during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, with tensions seemingly still running high as the players convened for Three Lions duty.
Both players trained on Tuesday with manager Gareth Southgate moving his media commitments 24 hours earlier to address the issue.
But Rose feels more has been made of the fracas than is necessary and played down the severity of the situation.
“It is not a big deal,” he told talkSPORT.
“We know there was something and people’s safety and how they are feeling is vital but, to me, it happens every day up and down the country within football.
“Is that right? No, it is not right but it happens and it can happen – emotions run high and you may say something.
“I have said a lot of things out of anger and frustration and you may do things out of anger and frustration – it is not right but once you have had time to calm down and assess everything you shake hands and move on.
“For me, it is just business as usual. We trained as usual and the gaffer was great in training, Steve Holland and all the coaching staff and all the lads trained well so it has just been a normal day.”
With Sterling now missing England’s 1000th game and the fixture which could seal a place at the European Championships next summer, Rose believes Southgate has proven how seriously he took the issue with Gomez.
“The squad is great,” he said.
“I came into the England set-up in 2016 and it was new for me but every camp under Gareth particularly, I look forward to coming away and seeing the boys.
Counting down to game 1️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣#threelions pic.twitter.com/xq0AX3lkgj — England (@England) November 12, 2019
“Raheem is fine or as good as he can be. I’ve been with him having dinner talking about everything – football, families. As I say we had a meeting last night and there is no time to dwell on things.
“We have a game in two days so if anything is going to be said or done it has to do be done after Sunday when we have qualified for the Euros and we are just concentrating on Montenegro and Kosovo.
“It is something new that has happened under the gaffer but I think every manager could say the same when this happens under them and I honestly can’t stress enough that it is not a big deal.
“There has been a punishment put in place and to miss England’s 1000th game at Wembley, it shows the manager has taken action and we just have to put it to bed now.”
Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi was full of praise for Sterling.
The 19-year-old is likely to replace Sterling in Southgate’s side for the game against Montenegro but hailed his team-mate as an “idol” for young players looking to make the grade at international level.
“What’s happened, happened. It is a situation where we have dealt with it as a team. We have moved on it,” he said.
“Raheem’s a very nice guy, he’s very encouraging, very positive about everything he does. When I first came in, I didn’t expect him to be so nice.
“Of course he is a nice person but when you see somebody always welcoming you, just talking to you, giving you advice on how he plays and just being around you a lot it makes you feel so welcome in the team.
“Someone like Raheem is like an idol to me. The position he plays, and what he’s doing for club and country, is an amazing thing, which I will try to replicate myself.
“It is an amazing feeling to have someone like him doing what he’s doing and being around you every time. I want to keep learning off what he does. He is a nice person to be around, very positive.”
