England manager Gareth Southgate
England manager Gareth Southgate has another off-field issue to deal with.
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has apologized after a party was held at his house over the weekend in contravention of the British government’s coronavirus guidelines limiting people to gatherings of groups of six or fewer when meeting those they don’t live with.
According to footage shared by The Sun newspaper, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho — called up by England last week, along with Abraham — were at the party.
“I arrived home to find a small surprise gathering,” Abraham, who turned 23 on Friday, told The Sun. “Though I was totally unaware this was planned, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for the naivety shown for the organisation and attending of this gathering.
“All I can do now is learn from it, apologize to everyone and ensure it never happens again.”
England plays Wales in a friendly on Thursday, before Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark at home.
The Football Association hasn’t commented officially on the story.
When England’s players met up for international fixtures against Iceland and Denmark last month, Harry Maguire was withdrawn from the squad ahead of the games after being convicted of assault in Greece. The defender has since been granted a retrial.
Then, youngsters Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden were dropped from the squad for breaching coronavirus restrictions after playing against Iceland by meeting women from outside the team’s bio-secure bubble.
Southgate left Greenwood and Foden out of his latest squad, but recalled Maguire.
