Colombia vs England: Coach appears to deliberately elbow Raheem Sterling as he jogs off for half-time

Former England defender Gary Neville labelled the Colombian coach ‘a numpty’ following the half-time incident as Sterling made his way towards the tunnel

Raheem Sterling was involved in a bizarre half-time incident during England's World Cup last-16 clash as he jogged towards the tunnel, with one member of the Colombian coaching team appearing to deliberately shoulder barge him.

The strange clash, which took place in front of referee Mark Geiger, capped a feisty first half in which Jordan Henderson was headbutted by Colombian midfielder Wilmar Barrios and Juan Cuadrado shoulder barged England defender Harry Maguire.

But while both of those incidents took place on the pitch, the one involving Sterling did not.

The Manchester City midfielder was making his way towards the tunnel when one of the Colombian backroom staff clearly tried to barge into the Englishman with his left shoulder, before incredibly appearing to try and blame Sterling for the collision.

Top his credit, Sterling did not react beyond turning around, and he joined teammate Jesse Lingard in walking down the tunnel for the break.

Former England defender Gary Neville, speaking in the ITV studio, labelled the coach “a numpty”, and while he escaped further action beyond a telling off from the referee, his broad smile immediately after suggested he knew exactly what he was trying to do.