In the wake of Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Newcastle on Monday, Brendan Rodgers once again had to face non-football related questions regarding the antics of Raheem Sterling.
READ MORE:
Liverpool Transfer Rumours
Raheem Sterling legal high: Liverpool fan’s take on latest controversy
(Video) Raheem Sterling on hippy crack: Liverpool star’s allegedly filmed on legal high in latest controversy
Just before kick-off in the game – during which the 20-year-0ld would open the scoring with a fantastic goal – a video emerged showing the player inhaling nitrous-oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas. Towards the end of the clip, the England international is shown to be apparently unconscious. Worryingly, this is the most recent of a number of misdemeanours involving the player.
The incidents come just days after Sterling was pictured using a shisha pipe, which in turn came not long after he was heavily criticised for knocking back a new contract with the Reds worth £100,000 a week.
On the back of this latest issue – that largely overshadowed Liverpool getting back into the race for the Premier League’s top four – The Telegraph report that Rodgers has vowed to speak to the youngster about his recent conduct, suggesting that he only wants the most professional of players at the club.
“For me, if you are a professional sportsperson at the top of the game, it is not something that you should be doing.
“But I will speak to Raheem to see what he says because I only saw it today,” he explained.
However, the Northern Irishman refuted claims that Sterling’s behaviour had had any impact on the success of the team.
“It isn’t a distraction – you can see that from way he plays. He is a kid who is strong-willed and probably should’ve had a hat-trick, but his performance was outstanding,” he added.