MANCHESTER UNITED and Manchester City slammed Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden for breaking England’s Covid-19 bubble.
The pair have been dumped from the Three Lions squad for the game against Denmark after inviting two girls to the hotel in Iceland, violating Covid rules.
Mason Greenwood won his first cap off the bench in the win against Iceland
Phil Foden started his first game for the England senior team
Boss Gareth Southgate confirmed the ‘naive’ duo would be sent home.
The pair have not yet left the country as they each face a £1,360 fine from Icelandic police for a legal breach of Covid restrictions.
Both players had made their international debuts in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Iceland – Foden, 20, started the game and Greenwood, 18, came off the bench.
And their clubs did not hold back when condemning their actions in brutal statements.
A comment from United said: “Manchester United are liaising with the Football Association and are disappointed with the actions of Mason Greenwood over this situation.”
A statement from City read: “It is clear that Phil’s actions were totally inappropriate.
“His behaviour not only directly contravenes strict guidelines related to Covid-19, but also falls well below the standard expected of a Manchester City player and England international.”
The FA also released a damning statement and confirmed an investigation will be launched.
A spokesperson said: “Whilst in Iceland, both Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood spent time outside of our private team area, which was a breach of our COVID-19 rules.
“While they did not leave the team hotel, it was an unacceptable breach of our protocol. They have both apologised for their serious lack of judgement.
“The FA will be launching a full investigation into the circumstances leading up to this breach.
“We have spoken to the Football Association of Iceland to offer our apologies for this incident and to ensure them that we are taking the appropriate steps.
“We have also assured the Danish Football Union that all other players and staff members have been isolated within our group throughout this period.
“Our immediate priority now is preparing the team for the match against Denmark tomorrow.”
Greenwood and Foden will not play in Denmark on Tuesday after reports from Iceland, including from newspaper DV, suggested the two girls posted photographs of the players on Snapchat.
The squad were exempt from Iceland’s quarantine procedures but still had strict rules to follow and were not allowed to meet any person outside the bubble.
Photographs of Mason Greenwood were shared to Snapchat Credit: Snapchat
Manchester City star Phil Foden was also caught on cameraCredit: Snapchat
Speaking to the media, Southgate said: “Unfortunately this morning it was brought to my attention two guys have broken the covid guidelines in terms of our secure bubble and so we had to decide very quickly they could not have any interaction with the team and could not travel to training.
“Given the procedures we have to follow they will have to travel back separately.”
When asked if they had invited two girls to their hotel, Southgate replied: “Nothing has happened in the areas we occupy in the hotel.
“No-one from outside our party has been in the hotels we occupy.
“We are still getting to the depths of the information. I am still getting to grips with the details but what is clear there was a breach of the covid guidelines.
“They’ve been naive.
“I recognise their age but the whole world is dealing with this pandemic. It is a very serious situation.
“We have treated it that way and as quickly as we have been able to.”
Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden axed by England after ‘inviting girls to hotel’ breaking Covid rules in Iceland
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
