England head coach Gareth Southgate has stated that Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell’s isolation situation is ‘bizarre’ after it was announced that the duo will have to remain in isolation till 28th June.
The entire predicament started on Monday, when Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour tested positive for COVID-19. Just three days before that, Scotland took on England for a Group D match of the UEFA European Championship 2020, at the Wembley Stadium in London.
Scotland managed to pick up a point from that game, and Gilmour was adjudged man of the match for his outstanding performance. After the match, the Chelsea FC youngster was seen chatting with teammates Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount.
England carried subsequent lateral flow tests on Monday, and while every member from the Three Lions’ squad returned a negative diagnosis, Mount and Chilwell were still asked to follow self-isolation protocols as they came in close contact with Gilmour.
According to the rules and regulations set up by Public Health England, a player will have to follow self-isolation protocols if he either has a face-to-face conversation within 1 metre of someone who tests positive for the virus, or if the player is within 2 metres of the COVID-19 positive person for more than 15 minutes.
In accordance with the first rule, the decision to isolate Mount and Chilwell from the rest of the squad looks justified, as they very visibly were having a face-to-face conversation with Gilmour while being in close contact.
That being said, what has perplexed many is that besides the English duo, there were other players who came in close contact with Gilmour, including almost every Scottish player. However, none of the Scotland players were asked to self-isolate themselves.
When England’s manager Gareth Southgate was asked about his opinion on the subject, he stated that he found the entire situation bizarre.
“They are of course hugely disappointed to miss the games. We’ve just had to get on with it. It’s a bizarre situation really,”
said Southgate, as quoted by The Guardian.
“They’ve spent 120 seconds too long in a fairly open space. It’s full of contradictions for me, but we have to get on with it. Frankly I don’t understand it at all. There are teams travelling around by plane, by coach, by bus, sitting in enclosed spaces for hours, and our two boys have been pinged for something. I don’t get it,”
he further added.
Chelsea’s technical director Petr Cech has also been vocal about his opinion on the issue. The former goalkeeper has called the decision ‘incomprehensible.’
‘These will be different games’ – Southgate on knockout fixtures
Despite missing two players, England had a fairly comfortable 1-0 win against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, which saw them finishing the group stage at the pole position. They will now take on the runners-up of Group F in the round of 16 tie. Portugal, Germany and France are the three most plausible opponents, while Hungary could also set up a tie with the Three Lions.
On being asked about the possibility of facing such heavyweights, Southgate stated:
“These will be different games. We know it’s world champions, European champions and Germany, who look like they’re back on song. But we’ve known that for 18 months. The good thing is we’re still improving. We look difficult to play against.”
