About two hours before the starting whistle for England’s round of 16 against Senegal, the Three Lions team announced that Raheem Sterling was removed from the squad due to personal issues. Now these reasons are becoming clear: last Saturday, just before England’s match against the United States, the home of a Chelsea player was broken into in London during an armed robbery, while part of his family was staying there. “Almost everything of value was taken, it appears to have been planned,” a family insider told British media.
Now Sterling decided to return to his homeland, to stay with his family that was not harmed in the burglary. According to reports in the British media, the winger who is highly regarded by Gareth Southgate is determined to return to Qatar, and hopes to rejoin his team-mates as soon as possible. It is not yet clear whether he will be available to the England team in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, on Saturday against France.
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“He’s dealing with a family matter,” Southgate said before the opening whistle. “I had some time with him this morning, but he flew to take care of this situation, and we’ll see what happens with him later.”