When footballers fight: Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez bust-up a reminder of some historic brawls between the game's toughest opponents

English football history is littered with punch-ups on the field

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Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez sorting out their differences is nothing new in football.

The Manchester City and Liverpool opponents kept the most violent part of their confrontation to the privacy of the England canteen after a tasty aperitif 24 hours earlier on the pitch at Anfield.

However, over the years some of the most high-profile players in the business have failed to show such self-restraint. For them, waiting until the final whistle and the sanctuary of the dressing-room to share their views with annoying rivals, or even teammates, was asking too much. Instead the field of play became their battle ground.

There are many such incidents. But here is a selection of the most famous dating back to the mid-1970s, when the rules of football were somewhat different. Also, unlike Sterling's mea culpa and subsequent apology, saying sorry was definitely not part of the game.

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