Four Premier League players have been criticised after being photographed at a coronavirus-busting party.
Pictures shared on social media showed three Tottenham Hotspur footballers – Erik Lamela, Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon – and West Ham United’s Manuel Lanzini at a Christmas party.
Both clubs are in London, part of a large tract of the country’s south-east that is in a Tier 4 lockdown, where there is meant to be no mixing of households and people should leave home as little as possible.
Residents should also not leave a Tier 4 region except for limited reasons, including vital work and medical treatment.
Lamela apologised for the incident, saying he understood the seriousness of his actions and the impact it had on others.
“I want to apologise for a decision I made over Christmas which I deeply regret,” he wrote on Twitter.
“I am truly thankful to everyone working hard to keep us safe and I feel ashamed knowing I’ve let people down.”
Reguilon was named among the substitutes for Spurs’ Premier League game at home to Leeds United on Saturday, while Lamela and the injured Lo Celso were left out of the squad.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said he was disappointed.
“We give the players all the education and it was a negative surprise for us,” he said.
“We know what we are internally. We don’t need to tell you the consequences, how we approached that negative surprise.”
A club statement said: “We are extremely disappointed and strongly condemn this image showing some of our players with family and friends together at Christmas.”
West Ham said they were disappointed by Lanzini’s actions and that the matter had been dealt with internally. The 27-year-old came off the bench in West Ham’s win at Everton on Friday.
“The club has set the highest possible standards with its protocols and measures relating to Covid-19, so we are disappointed to learn of Manuel Lanzini’s actions,” a West Ham representative said.
Lanzini said he took full responsibility for his actions.
“I want to apologise for a bad mistake I made over Christmas ... I know people have made difficult sacrifices to stay safe and I should be setting a better example,” he said on Twitter