Mason Greenwood during his first selection in Iceland -

SIPA

Attacking midfielder Phil Foden and striker Mason Greenwood have been excluded from the England selection which will face Denmark in the Nations League on Tuesday for violating anti-Covid measures, coach Gareth Southgate announced on Monday.

“Unfortunately, this morning I was told that two boys violated the bubble guidelines (intended to isolate the group to protect them from the novel coronavirus),” Southgate explained at a press conference, of Foden and Greenwood who had their first selection on Saturday.

"We had to decide very quickly that they could not have contact with the rest of the team, that they would not go to training, and they will have to return to England separately".

According to the Icelandic press, after the match won (1-0) on Saturday in Reykjavik, the two Manchester players, Foden at City and Greenwood at United, had received a visit from two Icelanders in the team hotel.

Images of the two players, taken by these young women, had circulated on social networks.

The rules put in place by the British and Icelandic authorities provided, however, that the English delegation would not leave its hotel and would not meet any person foreign to the group, outside the match.

"We are still studying the facts, I still have to see the details, but it is sure that there has been a violation of the guidelines that we had taken a long time to put in place and that the team had followed to the letter, ”lamented the coach, who stressed that players and staff had been tested four times since the start of the rally.

“From that point of view, we had no other choice” than to send the players home.

Tackled by their clubs

On an island that is proud of having contained the spread of the virus rather well so far - 2,143 cases and 10 deaths since the start of the pandemic - the attitude of the two young men has been widely criticized.

It is "a serious violation of the quarantine rules", lectured Thorolfur Gudnason, chief epidemiologist, and the deputy chief of police Rögnvaldur Olafsson indicated that "this matter is under investigation".

"I hope we will come to a conclusion very quickly," added the police officer, questioned about a possible fine for the two players.

As the England team flew to their next game against Denmark on Monday, Southgate assured that the two young women had not entered the area of ​​the hotel occupied by the team and that "no one others had not been in contact with the two players ”thereafter.

While calling its players "naive", Southgate denied them the mitigating circumstance of age, 18 and 20 respectively for Greenwood and Foden.

"I am a father of young adults, I know they sometimes make mistakes," he explained and the two players "have admitted their responsibility and apologized".

The two players were also criticized by their clubs.

United said they were “disappointed” with Greenwood when City spoke of “totally inappropriate behavior” for Foden.

Paradoxically, Iceland is not on the list of countries on whose arrival the British government requires quarantine, the two players may not have to isolate themselves on their return.

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