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Greenwood and Foden will travel back to England, confirms Gareth Southgate; watch Denmark vs England live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm on Tuesday; start at 7:45 p.m.
By Husmukh Kerai
Last Updated: 07/09/20 4:09 pm
8:06
England coach Gareth Southgate says Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were sent home after violating coronavirus protocols
Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden will not travel with the England team from Iceland to Denmark after violating UEFA protocols on coronavirus, Gareth Southgate has confirmed.
The FA is investigating media reports in Iceland that Greenwood and Foden breached quarantine rules while at their team’s hotel in Reykjavik.
Southgate confirmed that the pair broke the coronavirus security bubble guidelines and were sent back to England, without contact with any other players since Monday morning.
“Unfortunately, I was informed this morning that the two guys have broken Covid guidelines in terms of our safe bubble.
“We had to decide very quickly that they couldn’t have any interaction with the team, that they couldn’t train.
“Given the procedures we have to follow now, they have to travel back to England separately.”
Southgate said the infraction occurred outside of the part of the hotel that the FA has reserved for the England team.
“Nothing has happened in the areas that we occupy in the team hotel,” he insisted.
“We are still getting to the depths of all the information because they only caught my eye just a couple of hours before training, I am still getting familiar with some of the details.
“What is clear is that there was a violation of the coronavirus guidelines. We spent so much time implementing those measures that the whole team followed it together.
Greenwood and Foden missed England’s open training session on Monday morning
“We have had four tests in the period that we have been together. Our staff has been incredible in keeping it safe and tight.
“In that sense, we have no choice but to do what we are doing.”
When asked if Manchester City midfielder Foden and Manchester United striker Greenwood actually left the team hotel, Southgate replied: “I’m not going to go into any more details until everything is clear.
“No one from outside our group has been inside the areas of the hotel that we are occupying.”
Southgate believes that the game against Denmark is not at risk of being canceled due to how the staff followed the guidelines and restricted access for Foden and Greenwood from the rest of the team.
“We are very clear that no other member of our group has been in contact with those players. That is why they could not join us for breakfast or training. We follow the guidelines,” he said.
“It is a very serious situation and we have treated it that way and acted as quickly as we could.
“They have been naive and we have handled it appropriately. The entire world is dealing with this pandemic and each age group has a responsibility to protect each other.”
The two were the only players absent as Southgate took his last tactical session at the Laugardalsvollur stadium in Reykjavik before Tuesday’s game.
Both players made their full international debut in Saturday’s 1-0 Nations League over Iceland.
Southgate will have a team of 22 to choose from for the game in Copenhagen, which is live Soccer Sky Sports from 7pm on Tuesday.
1:21 Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand says the relevant authorities will be in contact with UEFA to ensure that Tuesday’s game against England runs smoothly.
Denmark coach: Not a good situation
Denmark remains hopeful that England’s game will go ahead, but will speak to UEFA before Tuesday’s meeting.
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand says they will accept whatever result is decided.
“It’s not a good situation,” Hjulmand said. “The Danish Federation will take care of this and look into it. The protocols are very strict and we will accept anything UEFA comes up with. If you think it’s a good idea to move on, of course we will. We hope we can play this one. game.
“It is very important that we stay within the protocols that they have given us. It is about soccer and the survival of soccer, being able to play is very important.
“A lot has happened so that we can play these games, so we have to be focused.”
Man Utd and Man City condemn Greenwood and Foden’s behavior
Greenwood and Foden debuted for England on Saturday against Iceland.
Manchester United say they are collaborating with the FA and are “disappointed in Mason Greenwood’s actions on this situation.”
The club will wait to find out if Greenwood will have to enter a 14-day quarantine upon his return to England and will make a decision on his eligibility to return to training in due course.
Meanwhile, Manchester City say Foden’s “inappropriate” behavior is below club standards and the club supports the FA in connection with the incident.
“It is clear that Phil’s actions were totally inappropriate,” City said in a statement.
“His behavior not only directly contravenes strict guidelines related to Covid-19, but it also falls well below the standard expected of a Manchester City player and an England international.
“The club supports the FA regarding this incident, and club officials are now in contact regarding Phil’s early forced return to the UK.
“We have no further comment to make on this matter.”
How to watch Nations League on Sky Sports
You can watch all 162 Nations League matches live on Sky Sports, plus the semi-finals, third place play-off and final. The games will be shown on our main channels and via the red button.
For a full rundown of Nations League matches and where to watch them on Sky Sports, head over to our matches page.
If you’re away from home, you can follow all those Home Nations games on the Sky Sports website and app, where we’ll have minute-by-minute updates and show you the goals as they go.
We will also have the highlights of all the matches involving the local nations and the best of the other Nations League matches available as well.
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