England trio Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho set for Gareth Southgate talks over Covid-19 breach

Exasperated England manager Gareth Southgate is set for talks with Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho before deciding if the trio would face punishment for breaking Covid-19 protocols.

Discussions between Southgate and FA chiefs were ongoing this morning, with the Three Lions boss having not ruled out removing the trio from his squad after they attended a surprise party to celebrate Abraham’s 23rd birthday on Saturday.

Southgate’s 30-player group reported to England’s St George’s Park training base on Monday morning, where they all underwent coronavirus testing and fitness assessments before entering a biosecure bubble.

While Southgate expected some players to pull out with fitness concerns, he was not due to decide the fate of Abraham, Chilwell and Sancho until talking to the trio to establish their version of Saturday’s events.

Footage on social media showed Chelsea pair Abraham and Chillwell and Borussia Dortmund’s Sancho at the party, with around 20 people appearing to be in attendance. Government protocols to control the spread of coronavirus restrict anyone from gathering in groups of more than six, with potential fines of up to £10,000 for breaches.

Southgate already was planning to remind his entire squad today of what is required from them on England duty after a number of high-profile off-field incidents.

In light of Saturday’s events, he was also set to warn his players that breaches of Covid protocols threaten to damage the national team’s relationship with the public and tell them to stop embarrassing themselves by flouting the rules.

Southgate left out Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden for the upcoming fixtures against Wales, Iceland and Denmark as punishment for breaching the biosecure bubble in Reykjavik last month. Greenwood, 19, and Foden, 20, invited two women back to their hotel after making their debuts in the 1-0 win over Iceland and were sent home ahead of the subsequent draw in Denmark.

Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker, who are both in the squad, were guilty of high-profile breaches of lockdown during the height of coronavirus restrictions.

“You always have to work at culture, it never is embedded forever,” Southgate said last week. “We will discuss what it means to wear the shirt and some reminders on how we work, but that’s not a case of reading the riot act. That’s a case of asking the players what sort of team they want to be involved in.

“We addressed some of that last time round, but when something like what has happened has happened we have to revisit that. In the end, a lot of the discipline or culture comes from the decisions you make. Decisions send a message.”

Asked about his decision to leave out Foden and Greenwood, he added: “They know what they did wasn’t acceptable. We needed that message to go out to all players who are involved with England at every age group. In the last few years we’ve reconnected really well with the public and we’ve got to make sure we protect that and there are standards of working as a team and your culture that are really important to protect.”

According to The Sun, Abraham said of the party: “I arrived home to find a small surprise gathering. Though I was unaware this was planned, I would like to apologise for the naivety shown.”

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