Coming hot on the heels of the Harry Maguire affair, Gareth Southgate won’t have been at all impressed by Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood’s recent antics, despite what appeared to be a measured response to the press.
The two young England internationals broke quarantine rules by apparently inviting Icelandic women back to their hotel room, and their error of judgment has seen Southgate swiftly send them home in disgrace.
As a result, they’ll play no part in Tuesday’s Nations League game against Denmark, and only the England manager will know just how badly this will affect their chances of winning other caps over the course of the next few months.
As Sky Sports have reported, both players have been fined 250,000 Icelandic Krona (£1,360) for the rule breach, and the FA as well as both Manchester United and Manchester City cannot pay this for their players, it must come out of their own pockets.
To be breaking coronavirus protocols at this stage, after so many warnings have been given, is stupidity in the extreme it has to be said.