Ravel Morrison gives his side of the story after Wilfried Zaha scrap - 'It tipped him over'
Ravel Morrison has lifted the lid on his infamous push on Wilfried Zaha during an England U21 game in 2013, with the former Manchester United star claiming the forward did not return to the changing room after the match
Ravel Morrison revealed the truth about his bust-up with ex-Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha during their time with England Under-21s, claiming that the altercation ended on the football pitch.
The incident occurred during a 5-0 thrashing of Lithuania in March 2013, when the routine win was suddenly interrupted by a confrontation between the two. In the altercation that was caught live on television, Zaha exchanged some heated words with Morrison before things began to escalate.
The pair began to shove one another as Nathan Redmond intervened to diffuse the argument before it got much worse. Zaha, who now plays for Charlotte in the MLS, took issue with Morrison's play, accusing him of selfishness in 2021.
Morrison, who currently plays with Precision FC in Dubai, has recently come out to quell the drama around the conflict, stating that it wasn't as intense as Zaha and the media portrayed it to be.
Speaking on the Undr The Cosh podcast, he said: "No. He didn't come into the changing room after that, but there was no back and forth or anything after that. There was nothing. The conversation was done.
"It happened on the pitch and it stayed on the pitch. There was nothing in the changing room, there was no awkwardness or anything. You can ask all the U21s that was there. There was nothing in the changing room after. I've never understood it really."
In 2021, Zaha provided his own insight into the disagreement on the On the Judy podcast. He said: "He (Morrison) was just getting me mad. He was moving like he was Ronaldinho and the rest of us were just no one.
"He was getting the ball and he was just doing tricks and the only time he passes it is if he really needs to. We're just stood there with our hands on our hips while he's going past six Lithuanian players. And it's just like, 'What are you doing?'
"It was that easy - the team that we had, we had such good players and we can all do that, we can all hog the ball and go past all of them but we're not doing it. We're trying to be professional, play properly, but he was just on his own thing.
"I just had enough. I was like, 'What are you doing?' And out of the blue he just pushed me. I'm like, 'Are you dumb?' So I pushed him back and it was just nonsense on the pitch. Then when you go inside, the man is silent."
In response to Zaha's previous comments, Morrison suggested that the pair should hash out their differences on a podcast themselves. He added: "I think that thing (the scuffle) was blown out of proportion.
"I think even from his side, he's come out and done something after it again. It was never that deep. Me and Saido Berahino, we were both on two goals. Obviously, you shouldn't really do it, but the game had like 15 minutes left.
"We were talking and saying, 'Who can get the hat-trick?' We were both trying to get a hat-trick, so I think I hit one outside the area and, from there, it just tipped him over the water. Even in that game, there was no, 'Oh, pass me the ball.' It was like that one split-second in the game."