LONDON (AP) – Manchester City said they were disappointed Sunday that their defender Benjamin Mendy has become the latest Premier League player to violate the rules set by the British government to curb the spread of the coronavirus, by staging a party at your house on New Years.
The lack of Mendy happened at the time that the City beforehand dealt with the impact of a COVID-19 outbreak among its ranks that had caused the postponement of Monday’s game against local Everton and forced six of its players to serve self-isolation. , with the positive result of Spanish defender Èric García revealed on Sunday.
Despite the risk of being infected in the meeting, Mendy was assigned as a substitute for Sunday’s game against Chelsea, as City required one more element on the bench.
“Benjamin had COVID beforehand, so he already had it before,” City coach Pep Guardiola tried to justify the measure. “He has been tested daily, just like the others … and it came back negative.”
According to the health information regarding COVID-19, having contracted it before does not offer any guarantee against future contagion.
The Premier League has so far not commented on the City, Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace players who were seen during the Christmas period breaching the COVID-19 restrictions that the British government has tightened in response to a new variant of the virus that, according to scientists, is 70% more contagious than the previous one.
Britain is in the midst of a strong outbreak, with more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases daily over the past six days.
Mendy received at his home a chef and two friends of his partner, said a representative of the French player according to quotes from the newspaper “The Sun”. Authorities had prohibited people who do not live in the same household from meeting in closed spaces in the northern England area where Mendy lives.
“The club is aware of a COVID-19 rule violation in the New Year involving Benjamin Mendy and the subsequent media report on the matter,” said City. “While elements of this incident are known to have been misinterpreted in reports, and the player has publicly apologized for his mistake, the club is disappointed to learn of the violation and will conduct an internal investigation.”
In a statement addressed to the newspaper “The Sun”, Mendy’s representative expressed regret on behalf of the 26-year-old French player.
“Ben accepts that this is a violation of the protocols for COVID-19 and is sorry for his actions in this matter,” the document reads. “Ben has been tested for COVID and is collaborating with Manchester City on this.”
Through a tweet, Mendy had exhorted the population to “take care of themselves and their own” shortly before midnight on Thursday.
On Saturday an image obtained from social networks was released in which three Tottenham players, the Argentines Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso and the Spanish Sergio Reguilón, are seen attending a party at a house in London during the Christmas period, in a clear violation of the rules against the spread of the coronavirus.
Tottenham condemned the conduct of the players, who could now face disciplinary measures determined by the club.
Another Argentine player, Manuel Lanzini from West Ham, also attended the same party. The 27-year-old winger apologized on social media for what he called his “grave mistake,” and the team announced that it had dealt with the matter internally.
While Fulham, whose visit to Burnley on Sunday has been postponed due to contagion cases at the London club, are investigating images that were released on social media on Friday showing their Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and compatriot Luka Milivojevic of the Crystal Palace, reunited with their families on December 31st.
