Reykjavík: England players Phill Foden and Mason Greenwood have been dropped from the squad after they broke the COVID-19 protocols allegedly bringing in girls in Iceland, English coach Gareth Southgate confirmed. Foden and Greenwood made their senior international debuts in the 1-0 victory over Iceland in the Nations League on Saturday (September 5).
Iceland website dv.is reported on Monday (September 7) the pair invited two women to England hotel on Sunday (September 6), breaking isolation rules in the country regarding COVID-19.
“Unfortunately this morning it was brought to my attention that two boys have broken COVID guidelines in terms of our secure bubble. We had to decide very quickly that they couldn’t have any interaction with the team. They wouldn’t be able to travel to training. Given the protocols they have to follow they have to travel back to England separately,” Southgate said during a press conference.
“Nothing has happened in the areas we occupy in the hotel. We are still getting the depths of the information. Still getting to grips with the detail. We have spent such a long time getting measures in place and the whole squad followed that to the letter.”
Southgate also said that the pair didn’t join the squad for breakfast. “I’m not going into any more details until I’m clear of everything. No-one from outside the hotel has been into the areas we occupy. We are very clear that no other members of our party have been in contact with the two players — couldn’t join us for breakfast or training. It is a very serious situation and we have treated it that way,” he added.
“I think at the moment I’m trying to take a lot of information in. Obviously they have been naive, we have dealt with it appropriately. I recognise their age, but the whole world is dealing with this pandemic,” Southgate said.
