The Guardian Australia

Abraham, Chilwell and Sancho pictured at party in apparent Covid breach

- PA Media

The Football Associatio­n has said there will be no immediate changes to the England squad following a report three players attended a party in breach of Covid-19 regulation­s.

The Sun has shared footage which appears to show Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Ben Chilwell and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho were at a party in London with more than six people – breaking the government’s “rule of six” coronaviru­s guidelines – on Saturday evening. Abraham has apologised.

The developmen­t comes a month after Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were sent home for breaching coronaviru­s protocols while with the England squad in Iceland.

The Sun reports that the FA has seen footage of the party and quotes a spokespers­on saying: “There will be no change to the England team at this stage.”

It is reported the party was organised as a surprise gathering for the Chelsea forward Abraham’s 23rd birthday. Abraham told the newspaper: “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.”

The England squad is due to assemble on Monday for a friendly against Wales on Thursday and Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark the following Sunday and Wednesday.

The FA has been contacted by the PA news agency for comment.

Dortmund said: “We are in close contact with the English FA and representa­tives of the national team. We are aware that they are following Covid-19 protocols in line with Uefa. It would not be appropriat­e for us to add comment at this stage.”

 ??  ?? Ben Chilwell (right) celebrates with Tammy Abraham after scoring for Chelsea against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Photograph: Kirsty Wiggleswor­th/AFP/Getty Images
Ben Chilwell (right) celebrates with Tammy Abraham after scoring for Chelsea against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Photograph: Kirsty Wiggleswor­th/AFP/Getty Images

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