NEWCASTLE BACK SAINT-MAXIMIN IN QUARANTINE STORM
NEWCASTLE UNITED say Allan Saint-Maximin did not break Covid-19 quarantine rules after he was pictured with a fan in a supermarket. The 23-year-old returned to Tyneside recently after being allowed to spend Christmas in France as he recovered from the effects of coronavirus. Sportsmail revealed yesterday Saint-Maximin was back and a picture has since surfaced of a supermarket employee taking a selfie with the winger. Boss Steve Bruce was not sure if the player had been subject to quarantine rules at the time. ‘I’ll ask the doctor,’ he said yesterday. ‘I think he has been in quarantine. He’s been in the country a while now. I’ll ask the doctor. Whether he had to isolate for 10 days, I’m not so sure.’ Pressed on the emergence of the picture with the fan, which the club were aware of, Bruce said: ‘He had to quarantine for five days, so I’m led to believe. I knew he was back in the country but I’m not so sure on the quarantine period.’ The club released a statement last night, saying: ‘Newcastle can confirm that Allan Saint-Maximin did not contravene UK quarantine rules during a visit to a supermarket in Newcastle on Thursday evening.’ The statement does not say when Saint-Maximin returned to the UK but adds that he will ‘continue to adhere to all quarantine rules’, leaving it unclear if and when he was in quarantine. The Premier League are monitoring the situation after they wrote to clubs this week warning them that Covid-19 breaches could result in disciplinary action being taken.