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Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood have been removed from the England team after violating quarantine rules by leaving the England compound to meet women in a public part of the team’s hotel in Iceland.
Foden, 20, and Greenwood, 18, made their senior team debuts in Saturday’s 1-0 UEFA Nations League win over Iceland.
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Sources told ESPN that the team’s hotel was not exclusive to England and that Foden and Greenwood broke protocol by meeting the two women on the side of the hotel that was open to the public. England coach Gareth Southgate said the team area was not compromised because the women were not inside that part of the hotel. The FA found out in the first hours and the players were sent back to their rooms.
This prompted Southgate to skip both players from England’s flight Monday afternoon from Reykjavik to Copenhagen, where they will play Denmark on Tuesday night.
“Unfortunately, it came to my attention this morning that the two guys have broken the COVID guidelines in terms of our safe bubble. They were unable to interact with the rest of the team,” Southgate said at a news conference.
“Nothing has happened in the areas we occupy in the hotel. We are still getting the deeper information. We are still getting acquainted with the details. We have spent so much time taking measurements and the whole team followed it to the end.
“I will not go into more details until everything is clear. No one from outside the hotel has been in the areas we occupy. We are very clear that no other member of our group has been in contact with the two. Players – they could not accompany us to Having breakfast or training is a very serious situation and we have treated it that way.
“I think right now I’m trying to incorporate a lot of information. Obviously they have been naive, we have handled it properly. I recognize their age, but the whole world is dealing with this pandemic.”
Iceland requires visitors to self-isolate for five days upon arrival. The Football Association negotiated an elite sports exemption to that rule following talks with the Icelandic government, but the team still had to remain in a biosecurity bubble for the duration of its stay.
Southgate’s virtual press conference was delayed for nearly an hour when the FA launched an investigation into the incident.
Manchester United issued a statement saying: “Manchester United is collaborating with the Football Association and is disappointed in Mason Greenwood’s actions on this situation.”
Manchester City also criticized Foden in his response: “It is clear that Phil’s actions were totally inappropriate.
“His behavior not only directly contravenes the strict regulations related to COVID-19, but it also falls well below the standard expected of a Manchester City and England player. The club supports the FA in this incident.”
Both players are expected to return to England in the next 24 hours.
Southgate also said there was no risk of Denmark’s game being postponed, as he questioned the suggestion that the women had entered the same area of the hotel as the rest of the team.
