England stars Mason Mount and Declan Rice have caused outrage by having a park kickabout with mates in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Mount is now facing a hefty club fine – as he is supposed to be in self isolation at Chelsea for another ten days, after team-mate Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive with the virus last week.
It is not clear whether Rice knew of Mount’s situation. Rice’s West Ham are not under lockdown and are expected to return to training this week, after the Premier League called a halt to games until April 3 or 4.
But Hammers boss David Moyes self-isolated this week after contact with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. And Rice too could now be hit with a fine.
Close pals Mount and Rice, both 21, though were spotted by a dad taking his 14-year-old son to football training on Sunday, at pitches in Barnet, north London.
The pair pulled up in their cars – a Bentley and a Mercedes – and proceeded to have a kickabout with pals in front of stunned onlookers.
JUST IN: Barcelona make Aubameyang transfer decision with Arsenal ready to sell
“Declan Rice was playing too. They were wearing snoods on their faces but it wasn’t obvious to me whether they were using them to protect other people or so they wouldn’t be noticed.
“Mason Mount seemed a bit less keen to reveal his identity by his body language. Half the time they had their snoods on their faces and half the time they were pulling them down.
“It was a friendly knockabout with lot of banter. I suppose I was carried along with my son’s excitement but when I went back to the car I thought ‘hang on’.
“We’ve got someone out in public who is a team-mate of Callum Hudson-Odoi, who actually has coronavirus.
“It looked like none of them were taking the situation very seriously. I’m a Liverpool fan and we heard last week how seriously Jurgen Klopp is taking it.
“He would have been furious. We saw how furious he was with fans who held their hands out to him in the Champions League game.
“It should be taken seriously, if it’s as apocalyptic as they say. No one else there seemed that worried. Everyone was just excited to see them.
“I would imagine their clubs would be horrified. Are they taking it seriously or is it just a PR thing?”
A Chelsea spokesman said that the club have reminded Mount of his responsibilities.
West Ham, meanwhile, insist that Rice had done nothing wrong and was not in isolation.
