Jadon Sancho appears to break coronavirus protocols at surprise birthday party for Tammy Abraham as England hit by fresh scandal
Jadon Sancho has infuriated Borussia Dortmund after footage emerged of the Manchester United target at a London birthday party alongside England teammates Tammy Abraham and Ben Chilwell, along with about 20 friends and family in breach of the country’s coronavirus laws.
Sancho missed Saturday’s 4-0 victory over freiburg after sitting out dortmund training all week due to illness, with the 20-year-old suffering from respiratory issues described as cold-like symptoms
The former Manchester City youngster has tested negative for coronavirus, but Dortmund elected not to take any risks with Sancho and kept him separated from the rest of the squad throughout the week, before allowing him to leave Germany for England ahead of the international break this week as Gareth Southgate’s squad meet up for games against Wales, Belgium and Denmark.
But Dortmund are said to be furious after The Sun published video footage of a surprise birthday party for Chelsea striker Abraham, which shows both Sancho and Chilwell in attendance as friends and family surprised Abraham on his 23rd birthday on Saturday night, hours after the Blues’s 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
The incident has fueled speculation that Sancho’s absence from the Dortmund squad may be more than just illness, with United continuing to try and sign the forward before Monday’s 11pm transfer deadline.
Though no official comment has been made, the Football Association are understood to be investigating the matter, which is the latest scandal to hit the national team in what has been a month to forget.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was removed from Southgate’s last England squad and missed the games with Iceland and Denmark following his conviction in Greece, while club teammate Mason Greenwood and Manchester City’s Phil Foden were sent home from Iceland for breaching coronavirus protocols by inviting two women back to the team hotel, resulting in their absence from the current squad.
On top of that, Uefa are likely to take a dim view of the trio’s presence in England’s squad this week given the lengths that have gone into getting cross-border football back on the agenda, while the evidence has also been passed on to police as the party appears to have breached the current government rules regarding no gatherings of more than six people. Under current restrictions, people who mix in groups of more than six can be fined up to £10,000.
Abraham has apologised for the incident and insisted that he was not aware of the celebration before he arrived, with the footage showing his shocked reaction as girlfriend Leah Monroe and around 20 others - including Sancho and chilwell - sang happy birthday to him.
He told The Sun: “I arrived home to find a small surprise gathering.
“Though I was totally unaware this was planned, I would like to wholeheartedly apologise for the naivety shown for the organisation and attending of this gathering.
“All I can do now is learn from it, apologise to everyone and ensure it never happens again.”
Southgate’s squad are due to meet up at St George’s Park this morning where all personnel will be tested for Covid-19 and remain in an isolation bubble ahead of Thursday’s friendly against Wales, with the manager ready to make changes should any players test positive and be required to self-isolate.
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