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Liverpool won't sanction Sterling over 'legal high' furore - sources

Raheem Sterling will avoid being punished by Liverpool over allegations that he has smoked shisha pipes and inhaled nitrous oxide, sources told ESPN FC.

Photographs and video obtained by British national media appear to have caught Sterling taking legal drugs on three separate occasions.

Manager Brendan Rodgers is set to hold a meeting with the England international on Thursday and remind him of his responsibilities as a professional footballer, but will not impose any sanctions, according to the source.

The latest set of images, published by the Daily Mail's website on Tuesday, seem to show the Liverpool winger and his club-mate Jordon Ibe smoking a shisha pipe, although the photographs appear to be at least four months old.

It follows a video of Sterling apparently inhaling nitrous oxide, known colloquially as "laughing gas," which was released via the Sun's website on Monday.

The Sunday Mirror had published a photo at the weekend of the 20-year-old allegedly smoking a shisha pipe, which had been released initially via the social media site Snapchat.

Liverpool have taken the view that while the controversy surrounding the footage of Sterling is unwelcome, he has not done anything illegal.

The club are also keen to avoid an unnecessary confrontation with a player at a time when discussions over a new contract are on hold.

Sterling, who is contracted with the club until 2017, revealed in an interview with the BBC at the beginning of April that he had rejected a new deal worth £100,000 a week, a significant increase on his current weekly salary of £35,000.

The winger and his advisers began discussions in October to extend his deal until 2020, but further talks have been postponed until the end of the season.Liverpool have declined to comment on the latest photographs of Sterling and Ibe.

But Rodgers said after Monday's 2-0 Premier League victory over Newcastle that he would be speaking to Sterling about his behaviour.

"It is something that when you are professional sportsperson at the top, I don't think it is something you should be doing," Rodgers said.

"It is as simple as that. But I will speak to him. We want players here who are super-professional and focused on their football. He very much is."