RAHEEM STERLING has released a statement after being booed by Chelsea fans during their 4-2 win over Leicester.
The Blues forward, 28, was jeered by the Stamford Bridge faithful after he ballooned a free-kick over the bar in the FA Cup quarter-final clash on Sunday.
He then appeared to be booed again moments later as Mauricio Pochettino substituted Mykhailo Mudryk instead of Sterling.
And he received a smattering of jeers when he was eventually substituted for Noni Madueke in the 86th minute.
It came after Sterling had missed a penalty in the first half – with many Chelsea fans confused as to why he stepped up ahead of regular taker Cole Palmer.
The former Liverpool and Manchester City man also missed a one-on-one with the score at 1-0, curling his effort well wide.
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Now Sterling has issued a response following his poor performance as he took to social media to address the fans.
Speaking on Instagram, he said: “Wembley Bound 🏟💙.
“To all the Chelsea fans, apologies for the penalty miss.
“I’ll be back 10x times stronger to help the team win and continue to keep fighting for the badge every single day 🔵🔵.
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“Let’s go Blues @chelseafc.”
Palmer, 21, responded to the post as the pair put the controversy to bed.
The England international replied: “💙 My brother. S**t happens, no need to apologise gg.”
Chelsea icon Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Arsenal legend Martin Keown were among the critics of Sterling during BBC’s coverage of the game.
At half-time, pundit Hasselbaink, 51, said: “Palmer is the penalty taker. I used to be a penalty taker. At 1-0 up I’m not giving it away.
“I think as a team, Gallagher as a captain has to go to Sterling and say ‘no’. Palmer’s scored all five. He needs to take it.”
And following Sterling’s poor free-kick, commentator Keown, 57, added: “Do you know that kind of says everything about the Chelsea performance today because we’ve got Palmer there.
“You’re waiting for Cole Palmer to maybe hit this into the back of the net and then we see this. That’s a ridiculous effort isn’t it.
“Obviously Sterling is doing his best there but Cole Palmer has to take that free-kick, end of.”
Sterling looks set to miss out on the Euros this summer as England boss Gareth Southgate has not selected him in any of his squads since the World Cup in 2022.
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He missed out yet again last week as the Three Lions boss revealed his selections for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
But Palmer did make it into the squad for a second successive time as he continues to be recognised for his superb form since arriving in West London from Manchester City.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
