Gareth Southgate: England coach says some players have been influenced by Covid-19 vaccination conspiracy theories | football news

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Gareth Southgate says some footballers have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 because they are affected by conspiracy theories on social media.

The England manager made a video after Euro 2020 urging people to get vaccinated and have been abused online as a result.

Vaccine uptake among professional footballers has been sporadic, with Southgate admitting he is unsure how many players in his current England team have received both doses.

“I think within the age group and the age group (of his players) – I don’t have all the data and statistics – I would feel that the youth are in a different scale in terms of accommodating the elderly,” he said.

“They seem to be more likely to make social media posts or live their lives on social media, where perhaps these theories abound. We might just talk to our GP and do things that way.

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Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett confirmed that Kieran Trippier will lead England’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday.

“But look, who knows, I could sit here in five years and be wrong. In some other cases, it was very clear what was right and what was wrong. I was willing to talk about it, but I can 100% say that the vaccination program Safe, well, I can’t because I’m not a chemist, I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist.

“I imagine we wouldn’t be in the position we are in a mass vaccination program without doing research and without being completely sure of governments and doctors, so I’m comfortable taking that risk.”

While footballers – especially those in and around the England national team more recently – have raised awareness and fought racism, anti-discrimination and other topics, most remain on their own when it comes to the vaccination programme.

Southgate does not blame them and cited an example of the abuse he received in support of the NHS vaccination campaign as a reason for some to put off.

“I realize that others may feel less comfortable and have some anxiety,” he added. “That’s why it’s a bit more complicated and I think that might be why they might feel less confident about speaking.

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Rob Dorsett of Sly Sports News explains why UEFA is satisfied that the match between Andorra and England will make progress despite the fire that set a media bridge and damaged part of the 4G stadium in the emirate’s National Stadium.

“If you get messages when you support the program that says ‘You could be on a Nuremberg-type trial in 10 years’ and people are so vicious with the comments, it makes you think twice before speaking out.

“Because what if I’m on the wrong side? Right now I can’t be sure I’m on the right side. I’m relieved that I got the vaccine.

“I’m relieved that I think it was the right thing to do a video for the NHS. But I also realize that others may not be too keen on putting themselves in this situation.

“With racism they are very clear. They know what they have been through and have experienced as a team.

“At their age they’re more open to some of these conspiracy theories because they read social media more, and they’re probably more susceptible to that kind of opinion. From what I can see there’s a little bit of confusion.”

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Southgate says confidence within his England squad has grown significantly during his five years at the helm.

Southgate has also suggested that medical confidentiality is the basis for his players not publicly sharing their Covid vaccination status.

The Three Lions are preparing for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary during the seventh international meeting since the Corona virus changed the scene.

The camp comes amid fresh scrutiny over vaccination rates within football, with World Cup organizers in Qatar reportedly planning to ban unvaccinated players.

The players have given little indication of their vaccination status in the media since they joined the squad at St George’s Park and Southgate insists it is not up to him or the Football Association to guide the team on whether they should reveal their stance on vaccinations.

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Will Andorra Stadium affect England?

“There is something called medical secrecy that seems to be completely ignored in a lot of areas at the moment,” he said on the eve of the Andorra match.

“These are not our players. I don’t think the clubs would thank us for sharing that kind of information and frankly, it’s personal information for the players. I’m sure you have the GDPR at your workplace, and you’ll be aware of all of that.

“Our doctor for the past year and a half has always spoken with the players about the current situation with regard to infections in the country.

“He always explains the benefits of vaccination in this context. But no, of course we had to deal with many different topics, but we also had to prepare a team to play football.

“We are here to play football. The players are here to play football. We can’t have a huge impact over the next two or three days – certainly we can’t beat everyone for the next two or three days.

“I will always talk to the players about anything in their lives. But we are here to win football matches first and foremost.

“Look, everyone knows where I stand on the subject. To get out of the pandemic, the only way out was a vaccination program and I think that was necessary.

“There’s then the complexity of having a lot of individual circumstances around that and I understand some people might be worried, maybe.”

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