Gareth Southgate (pictured) said Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho will miss Thursday’s friendly against Wales. PA
Gareth Southgate (pictured) said Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho will miss Thursday’s friendly against Wales. PA
Gareth Southgate (pictured) said Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho will miss Thursday’s friendly against Wales. PA
Gareth Southgate (pictured) said Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho will miss Thursday’s friendly against Wales. PA

Gareth Southgate warns players coronavirus has a role in picking squads


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Gareth Southgate warned breaches of coronavirus restrictions will play a part in his selection of future England squads after Tammy Abraham, Jadon Sancho and Ben Chilwell were ruled out of Thursday's friendly against Wales.

Their arrival to join Southgate's squad has been delayed after they attended a surprise birthday party for Abraham last weekend, which broke regulations that gatherings should be limited to six people.

Southgate said if they were not allowed to return to training before Friday, he will also rule them out for selection in Sunday's Nations League clash with Belgium.

"I think the players have already accepted they were in the wrong, that they've broken those lockdown guidelines," he said.

"We do have an issue in terms of the Covid guidelines and making sure that any player that comes in is as low a risk as possible in terms of the whole group."

Last month Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden were also sent home from England duty after breaking Covid-19 rules by inviting girls back to the team hotel in Iceland.

The Manchester United forward and Manchester City midfielder were not included by Southgate in his latest squad.

He believes the relationship between England players and fans has improved during his four years in charge, most notably when the Three Lions reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.

And he warned that he would not allow that connection to be damaged by young players flouting the guidelines.

"The connection with the fans we have worked very hard on over the last three or four years to bring back," Southgate said.

"Key to that is the contribution of the players. We've got 10 who were with us in Russia.

"They've done a lot of good work with us, their clubs and in the communities. They've played well and got results.

"Some of the younger ones don't have that credit in the bank and they need to remember that it is an honour to play for England.

"All these things as you select squads in the future play a part in your thinking."

Tougher restrictions have been introduced in the UK in recent weeks to try to curb the rising number of Covid cases.

Football is also seeing more infections, with 19 cases in the Premier League over the past two weeks.

Southgate called on a greater collective effort to help stop the spread.

"As a country, in terms of fighting the virus, we need to get back on track in terms of working together," he said.

"I felt really positive about this at the beginning of lockdown. Everyone was pulling together. There is a lot of disharmony now.

"We are all in this situation together and we've got to work together to pull through as a country."

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
While you're here
MATCH INFO

Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')

Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')

Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Results

Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).

Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2.

Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2.

Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission.

Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission.

Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0)

Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1)

Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision.

Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission.

Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision.

Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission.

Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission.

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Ticket prices
  • Golden circle - Dh995
  • Floor Standing - Dh495
  • Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
  • Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
  • Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
  • Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
  • Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
  • Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

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