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Jordan Henderson has urged the nation not to be harsh on England footballers for violating coronavirus protocols, when the country’s politicians don’t even follow their own rules.
Henderson, who at the age of 30 is now one of Gareth Southgate’s biggest locker room influences, has played a key role this week in helping the Three Lions boss restore some order to his team.
Southgate, who had already left Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood out of his plans for matches against Wales, Belgium and Denmark as punishment for bursting the quarantine bubble in Iceland last month, was furious to discover that Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho had also broke government guidelines by partying last weekend.
The trio were left out of Thursday’s 3-0 win over Wales, and Henderson insists they will learn from experience.
But the Liverpool captain, a big proponent of the Players Together movement seeking to raise huge sums for the NHS during the pandemic, feels the matter is now settled.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Henderson said: “We know that when you play for England there is a great responsibility and that any little thing you do will be under scrutiny.
“But during the Covid, not only footballers have made mistakes.
“I know that we will be objective and that everyone has to do everything possible.
“But it’s new to all of us and in the last few months one or two players may have made some bad decisions.
“But I think that applies to the people of this country in general.
“You look at the politicians, you look at the businessmen. They have also made mistakes.
“We all have to try to do the best we can in the future to try to minimize the spread of the virus and try to help save lives as much as possible.
(Image: Eddie Keogh for The FA / REX / Shutterstock)
“But it is not only in football.”
Henderson was left out of the win over Wales but will return to Southgate’s side for the visit of the world’s No. 1 ranked team.
He believes Southgate has handled himself, even though the England coach is considered Mr.
Henderson said: “Gareth is a good guy and he might not raise his voice that often, but when he yells you know it’s because something is really not right.
“He is not afraid of making difficult decisions, as we have seen, and as players we all think he has handled everything very well.
“Gareth has handled certain situations very well in terms of discipline.
“Everyone supports him in what he has said, but at the same time I am a senior player and I also have to support my teammates and help them as much as possible.
“It is my responsibility to help the younger guys and help them make good decisions in the future.
(Image: Eddie Keogh for The FA / REX / Shutterstock)
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“I think the expert has handled certain situations very well, both in public and in private.”
In the two years since Belgium beat England to third place in the World Cup, Roberto Martinez’s men have risen to number one in the FIFA rankings.
Henderson, who will mark the 10th anniversary of winning his first international game against France next month, believes England have also continued on an upward trajectory.
He said: “I feel like the game against Wales was very good.
“There is still a lot to improve, but I liked the unity of the group.
“And I liked the intensity of the training that I have been involved in this week.
“I guess there is no better game to learn from than Belgium, which is number one in the world at the moment.
“For us, no matter what system we use, we need to have the same identity all the time.
“That means playing with passion and desire, and also being horrible to play.”
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