As one of the first Premier League teams to have had to totally shut down their training ground because of an outbreak of Covid-19, you’d have thought that Newcastle United’s players would be a little more careful than most to be following the protocols.
Not so it would seem in the case of Allan Saint-Maximin.
According to The Sun, the player was allegedly photographed with a fan inside a local supermarket, although the Magpies aren’t sure if he has broken the protocols or not.
That’s because, despite recovering from Covid and allowed to be home in France for the holiday period, he had already been back in the United Kingdom for ‘a while’ before the alleged breach.
Newcastle are conducting their own investigation to determine if the player has in fact breached the protocols, but at the very least he’s been a little stupid.
With clubs almost certain to be fined too under a new set of guidelines issued by the Premier League, per The Sun, Steve Bruce is likely to take a dim view.
Amongst other things, the new guidelines mean that away teams have to arrive at grounds in three separate coaches, masks on at all times unless playing, warming up or giving interviews, and celebrating of goals which involves hugging, shaking hands or similar and no swapping shirts.