Shamed England stars Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood tried to sneak four women into their Iceland hotel while they were supposed to be quarantining before Foden exposed his backside to one of them while wearing just his boxers.
Icelandic beauty queen Nadia Sif Lindal Gunnarsdottir, 20, told MailOnline how she had been chatting with young Manchester United star Greenwood, 18, for a ‘couple of days’ before he and fellow England starlet Foden visited Iceland for a Nations League game in Reykjavik.
Nadia and her cousin Lara Clausen, a 19-year-old law student, were among at least four local women who flirted with the players and discussed going to their hotel, though not all of the women did so.
The Three Lions pair, who both made their England debut in the game against Iceland on Saturday but have since been sent home, sneaked the young women into the team hotel.
A picture taken by one of them revealed father-of-one Foden, who has a longterm girlfriend, in his boxers facing away from the camera with his bottom hanging out.
The women also posted a shot of the footballers with the caption: ‘Chillin with Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden.’
It is believed that Foden and Greenwood booked the women two rooms on a separate floor away from the rest of the team and the women then allegedly spent a few hours at the hotel but left before breakfast.
Last night England boss Gareth Southgate branded his young players ‘naive’ and said he had ‘no alternative’ but to axe them from the squad.
Shamed England star Phil Foden exposed his backside to an Icelandic woman that he sneaked into his hotel while he was supposed to be quarantining with fellow footballer Mason Greenwood
Icelandic beauty queen Nadia Sif Lindal Gunnarsdottir, 20, (pictured) went to visit the footballers with her cousin
Last night England boss Gareth Southgate branded his young players ‘naive’ and said he had ‘no alternative’ but to axe them from the squad. Pictured is the car taking Foden and Greenwood home from Manchester airport last night
Foden and Greenwood were spotted being driven home from Manchester airport last night
Both are expected to face disciplinary action.
Foden issued an apology last night in a statement on Twitter which read: ‘Following the story which has emerged today regarding my actions in Iceland I want to make a full apology.
‘I apologise to Gareth Southgate, to my England teammates, to the staff, supporters and also to my club and my family.
‘When I was called up by Gareth for these games, my first reaction was that of immense pride. To pull on that shirt for the senior team in my England debut was an incredible privilege.
‘I am a young player with a lot to learn, but I am aware of the huge responsibility I have in representing Manchester City and England at this level.
Foden issued an apology last night in a statement on Twitter
‘On this occasion I made a poor decision and my behaviour didn’t meet the standards expected of me.
‘I breached Covid-19 protocols put in place to protect myself and my England colleagues. As a consequence I will now miss the opportunity to travel to Denmark with the squad, and that hurts.
‘I will learn a valuable lesson from this error in judgment and I wish Gareth and the team good luck this week.
Beauty queen Nadia claimed the pair had never even heard of Foden, 20, before the trip – but that the four of them spent the evening getting to know each other and enjoyed a ‘good night’ together.
When asked how close they came to the stars during the evening, Nadia declined to comment and would only say ‘they were perfect gentlemen’.
She told MailOnline: ‘We met online. I was talking to Mason for a couple of days before they came to Iceland.
One of the girls uploaded pictures of Mason Greenwood (pictured left) and Phil Foden (pictured right) to social media
Nadia brought friend and cousin Lara Clausen (pictured) to meet the two England stars. Nadia is a 19-year-old law student from Iceland
The two girls (Nadia pictured right and her cousin and friend Lara left) pictured on the night they went to the England team’s hotel to meet the young stars, who both made their debuts for the national team against Iceland on Saturday
‘They did know that they had to quarantine, but we figured that since they were playing Iceland, they had been tested before and it would be OK.’
It comes after videos revealed how the England stars had engaged in suggestive chat with at least four Icelandic girls, discussing the idea of them joining the footballers in their hotel.
One of the girls, Anita Gunnarsdottir, admitted being filmed flirting with the players with a friend, but insisted that she had decided not to go to their hotel. ‘I didn’t meet them. I’m not one of the girls who went to the hotel,’ she said.
The footage emerged hours after England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed the pair had been kicked out of the squad after they were filmed meeting with girls in the team hotel in Iceland – breaking strict coronavirus quarantine rules.
This is the moment England stars Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden engage in a flighty chat with Icelandic girls
Video shows Icelandic girls receiving a photograph message from Phil Foden (pictured left), and expressing their excitement, right
The young stars, who made their debut for England against Iceland on Saturday, did not travel with their team-mates to Denmark yesterday after footage emerged of the pair in a hotel room with the girls.
The pair will instead fly home separately from the rest of the England team, back to Manchester.
Yesterday, Nadia apologised for her part in the incident, saying she felt ‘really, really, really bad’.
She told MailOnline: ‘I feel really sorry for them and I never wanted to put them in that position. But we didn’t know any better, and we didn’t know that they were quarantining, or else we wouldn’t have gone to meet them.
‘We didn’t even know who Phil was. I asked Phil who he was. I’m not that much into football. I don’t watch football at all.
‘We didn’t even know that Mason played for Man United.’
She added: ‘We haven’t spoken to them since. We don’t want to interrupt them because they are of course going through a lot right now. They haven’t contacted us.
‘It was a good night that we had, of course. We were all the four of us spending time together and getting to know each other. They were nice guys. Really, really nice.’
Lara added: ‘They were just young. We were all young and stupid and we all make mistakes. They treated us really well. They were such gentlemen. Really nice guys.’
Reports of the hotel meeting came after Greenwood and Foden both made their debuts in England’s 1-0 away win against Iceland in the Nations League on Saturday.
England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed the pair will travel home separately from the rest of the team.
The national team arrived in Iceland having been given an exemption from the country’s quarantine rules, which mean all foreign travellers have to quarantine for 14 days – regardless of how long their stay in the country is.
Instead, Gareth Southgate’s men were banned from meeting anyone outside of their bubble and were only allowed to go to their training facilities and the match while in the country.
A Snapchat clip released by DV appears to show England youngsters Phil Foden (pictured) and Mason Greenwood in a hotel room with female company
The meeting took place at the Radisson Blu hotel in Reykjavik, Iceland, where the England team were staying. The FA say the incident did not take part in any of the hotel rooms which the team were staying in
The four star rated hotel costs around £100-a-night and is around a 15 minute drive, or around 5km away from Iceland’s national stadium
Phil Foden (left) and Mason Greenwood are both heading home after breaking quarantine rules, Gareth Southgate has confirmed
Foden and Greenwood (pictured with Gareth Southgate) made their senior debuts this week. Southgate said the pair would fly home separately from the rest of the squad
Foden, above with Man City boss Pep Guardiola, has a one-year-old son and a girlfriend who he has been in a long term relationship with
The pair’s conduct in bringing girls back has also contravened the FA’s behavioural rules for players whilst on international duty.
In the short clip, Foden and Greenwood appear to be wearing their new England training wear and the players are now in hot water with management.
In an interview with DV, one of the girls in the Snapchat video allegedly filmed in the hotel room said: ‘We had no idea about these [Covid-19] rules, they never said we could not take pictures.’
Another girl claimed to have notified the England stars that the pictures were in circulation with a Snapchat message, but ‘they have not opened it’.
She also claimed to have been talking ‘with one of the boys for a few days’.
She said: ‘The only thing I can say is that I had been talking to one of them for a few days. I’m not going to say where.’
Foden has a two-year-old son and a long-term girlfriend, while United star Greenwood broke up with his model girlfriend back in May.
Manchester City midfielder Foden started for Gareth Southgate’s side against Iceland on Saturday night, making his senior international debut.
Meanwhile, Greenwood, who starred for Manchester United at the end of the recent Premier League season, came off the bench to achieve the same accolade.
While the pair would have been looking ahead to England’s next fixture against Denmark in Copenhagen on Tuesday night, they will now leave Iceland and return home.
United’s Mason Greenwood broke up with his model girlfriend Harriet Robson back in May. The pair are pictured here together
City star Foden, who is thought of as a hot prospect for the future, regularly posts pictures with his young son, who turned one back in January
Greenwood, who is also a highly regarded youngster at his club Manchester United, is pictured in training on Sunday, will head back to Manchester United on Monday
Foden was all smiles on Sunday but is now leaving the camp under a dark cloud this week following the revelation of the quarantine breach
England’s senior stars trained on Monday morning, but Foden and Greenwood were absent. The team are set to face Denmark in their next match
The likes of James Ward-Prowse (centre) and Jack Grealish (left) were in high spirits on Monday, ahead of the Denmark game
The pair were both absent from England training on Monday and it was then confirmed that they would leave the camp and travel home before the team’s second and final match.
England boss Gareth Southgate faced the media for a press conference where he discussed the issue.
He said: ‘Two of the boys have broken the Covid-19 guidelines, in terms of our secure bubble.
‘We had to decide very quickly that they couldn’t have any interaction with the rest of the team and wouldn’t be able to train.
‘Obviously they have been naive. We have dealt with it appropriately. I recognise their age but the whole world is dealing with this pandemic.
‘Now they will have to travel back to England separately.’
He added: ‘Nothing has happened in the areas we occupy in the hotel.’
It has been reported by news outlet DV that the girls did not go into the players’ room, but instead two other rooms had been booked where the could meet the woman, who both reportedly from Iceland.
The news outlet reports that, at first, only one of the woman was going to meet Greenwood, before a friend of hers decided to go with her.
A spokesperson for Greenwood’s club, Manchester United, said they were ‘disappointed’.
Greenwood (pictured left) is a rising star at Manchester United. The club have called his actions ‘disappointing’. Foden (pictured right) is also highly rated by Manchester City. The club says the player’s actions were ‘totally inappropriate’
The spokesperson said: ‘Manchester United are liaising with the Football Association and are disappointed with the actions of Mason Greenwood over this situation.’
A statement from City read: ‘It is clear that Phil’s actions were totally inappropriate.
‘His behaviour not only directly contravenes strict guidelines related to Covid-19, but also falls well below the standard expected of a Manchester City player and England international.’
A spokesperson for the England national team tonight added: ‘Whilst in Iceland, both Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood spent time outside of our private team area, which was a breach of our COVID-19 rules.
‘While they did not leave the team hotel, it was an unacceptable breach of our protocol. They have both apologised for their serious lack of judgement.
‘The FA will be launching a full investigation into the circumstances leading up to this breach.
‘We have spoken to the Iceland FA to offer our apologies for this incident and to ensure them that we are taking the appropriate steps.
‘We have also assured the Danish FA that all other players and staff members have been isolated within our group throughout this period.
‘Our immediate priority now is preparing the team for the match against Denmark tomorrow.’