Antonio Valencia apologises to Raheem Sterling for spat in England-Ecuador match

A friendly game turned into a brawl

Antonio Valencia has apologised to Raheem Sterling for his ugly bust-up in the Ecuador-England friendly match. The Ecuador winger grabbed Sterling by the neck and shoved him after a rash tackle by the Liverpool star during the pre-World Cup warm-up game in Miami.

Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia was sent off after his ugly bust-up with England’s Raheem Sterling after the latter’s rough challenge which also led to his sending off. Manchester United star has opened up saying that he feared for his own fitness as he had already suffered a bad knee injury three seasons ago.

Valencia said: "I am sorry for the fight with Sterling. England are the best team we've played so far. I apologised to the team after the match and the coach. When he (Sterling) tackled me I thought about Segundo Castillo. He nearly missed the World Cup because of injury and I feared I would too, but thankfully I am OK.”

He also added that he was happy with his team’s performance in the second half as Ecuador held England for a 2-2 draw in their warm-up fixture ahead of the World Cup.

I apologize to the country, my teammates, the coaching staff for the expulsion of today. But most importantly, I'm fine.

— Antonio Valencia (@7AntoV) June 4, 2014