Abraham, Sancho 'flout' virus rules

English footballers apologise after video surfaces of them attending a party

LONDON:

Chelsea's Tammy Abraham has apologised after footage emerged of him attending a party with England teammates Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho in an apparent breach of national coronavirus rules.

The Sun newspaper published the video, which appears to show the three players at a gathering in London with more than six people present on Saturday.

It comes a month after Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were sent home for breaching Covd-19 protocols while with Gareth Southgate's England squad in Iceland.

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

The England squad is due to assemble this week ahead of a friendly against Wales on Thursday and Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark.

Chelsea pair Abraham and Chilwell and Borussia Dortmund's Sancho are all in the 30-man group.

It was reported the party was organised as a surprise gathering for Abraham's 23rd birthday.

The forward has apologised, telling 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."