Trevor Sinclair leaps to defence of shamed Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden as ex-England star says ‘boys will be boys’
TREVOR SINCLAIR has defended the actions of axed England duo Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden.
The footy stars have been thrown out of Gareth Southgate’s squad after the pair broke quarantine rules in Iceland by bringing girls back to the team hotel in Reykjavik.
Manchester United’s Greenwood, 18, and Man City’s Foden, 20, will now return home instead of traveling with the rest of the squad to face Denmark tomorrow.
They fly travel together on a private flight back to Manchester tonight after speaking with local police regarding their Covid rule-breaking.
The pair made their international debuts in the 1-0 over Iceland on Saturday, now they could face a police fine for breaking strict Covid guidelines as well as the public embarrassment following their antics.
However, former England winger Sinclair, 47, has leapt to their defence.
He tweeted: “Boys will be boys. Let’s not destroy our own young players. Learn and be better, end of x.”
Foden and Greenwood’s conduct in bringing the two females into the hotel has also broken the FA’s rules
An FA statement confirmed the duo had apologised for their actions.
It read: “Whilst in Iceland, both Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood spent time outside of our private team area, which was a breach of our Covid-19 rules.
“While they did not leave the team hotel, it was an unacceptable breach of our protocol. They have both apologised for their serious lack of judgement.
“The FA will be launching a full investigation into the circumstances leading up to this breach. We have spoken to the Football Association of Iceland to offer our apologies for this incident and to ensure them we are taking the appropriate steps.”
The pair have been described as “gentlemen” by the girls who visited them at the hotel.
Model Nadia Sif Lindal Gunnarsdottir, 20, has revealed how she had been chatting with Greenwood for a “couple of days” before he and Foden arrived in Iceland.
After she and her 19-year-old cousin Lara Clausen visited the hotel, she told The Mail: “We met online. I was talking to Mason for a couple of days before they came to Iceland.
“They did know that they had to quarantine, but we figured that since they were playing Iceland, they had been tested before and it would be OK.”
Nadia added: “We haven’t spoken to them since. We don’t want to interrupt them because they are of course going through a lot right now. They haven’t contacted us.
“It was a good night that we had, of course. We were all the four of us spending time together and getting to know each other. They were nice guys. Really, really nice.”
Lara added: “They were just young. We were all young and stupid and we all make mistakes. They treated us really well. They were such gentlemen. Really nice guys.”
Now footage of the conversation between the giggling girls and the two youngsters has surfaced on social media as they plotted how to sneak into the hotel in Iceland.
One of the girls is seen laughing while asking the players “what’s the plan?” for sneaking into the hotel.
- Man Utd and City stars Mason Greenwood & Phil Foden AXED by England after ‘inviting girls to hotel’ breaking Covid rules
- Man Utd and City slam Greenwood and Foden in brutal statements after England duo had girls back to hotel on England duty
- Moment giggling Icelandic girls asked how England stars Mason Greenwood & Phil Foden would sneak them into team hotel
- England release damning statement and FA probe over Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden breaking Covid rule to sneak girls in
The conversation between the female and footy stars continues, with the girl responding “what you think bro” when asked what she is coming to the hotel for.
And the clip finishes with one of the players then asking the girl if she has a friend who could come with her.
Both Man City and United have also both condemned the actions of their respective players.
England’s squad were exempt from Iceland’s quarantine guidelines, but they had to abide by strict rules while in the country.
Southgate’s men were not allowed to meet anyone outside of their bubble.
Most read in Sport
The players would not have even been allowed to see their families if they had travelled to the match.
Foden became a dad when he was 18 years old and is in a relationship with long-term partner Rebecca Cooke.
United star Greenwood broke up with his model girlfriend back in May.