England players are making arrangements to beef up the security at their homes after Raheem Sterling was forced to fly back from the World Cup following a break-in at his house.
Sterling had been due to feature in England’s last 16 match against Senegal on Sunday night, but was withdrawn late on. He is flying back to England from Qatar to be with his young family after his Surrey home was broken into by armed robbers on Saturday.
His family were inside the property at the time and Sterling is worried about the welfare of his children. It is unclear at this stage whether he will return to Qatar in time to be involved in the Three Lions’ quarter-final against defending champions France on Saturday evening.
The Daily Mail reports that England’s players were informed of Sterling’s situation in a team meeting shortly before leaving their Al Wakrah base for the match at the Al Bayt Stadium. They are now upping security back at their homes amid concerns gangs could be targeting their properties, believing them to be empty.
Many of England’s players have been joined by their families out in Qatar for the tournament. The end of matches has seen players climb into the stands to chat with their entourages. It is feared that those sights could have emboldened criminals.
Despite the distraction, England managed to put in a professional performance and beat Senegal 3-0. Goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka sent them through to the next round, where they will face France.
England manager Gareth Southgate admitted it was unclear when, or if, Sterling will return to Qatar. "We will have to wait and see,” he told ITV. “At the moment, clearly the priority is for him to be with his family and we’re going to support that.
"We’re going to allow him to have as much time as he needs. He’s going home, yeah. I really don’t know because at the moment it’s a situation that he needs time with his family to deal with and I don’t want to put him under any pressure.
"Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first."
Unfortunately, Sterling is far from the first footballer to be targeted by burglars. Back in March, Manchester United star Paul Pogba’s home was burgled while he was busy playing for the club against Atletico Madrid.
The midfielder’s two children were sleeping inside the property at the time and Pogba said the incident had left his family shaken. Pogba’s United teammate Victor Lindelof was also the victim of a burglary in January, with thieves targeting the defender’s home while he was playing for United against Brentford.
Meanwhile, Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo suffered facial injuries during a violent break-in in December. Reports at the time said players were hiring former special forces soldiers to guard their homes while away with work.
