Kyle Walker appears to have played his last game for England with Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate livid that he flouted coronavirus lockdown rules to host a sex party in his house.
According to The Sun, Walker and a friend had invited two escorts to his flat in Cheshire last Tuesday, having just hours earlier urged his followers on Twitter to observe lockdown guidelines by the government.
Though Walker apologised in a statement after the reports emerged, he is set to be fined two weeks’ wages by Manchester City.
The bigger punishment may come from England coach Southgate, though, with the Daily Star saying he has vowed never to pick Walker again, effectively ending the defender’s international career at the age of just 29.
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It is claimed that Southgate has been left furious at Walker’s behaviour and feels he has not met the standards expected of an England player.
Walker played an important role in England’s run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018 but has fallen out of favour recently, not getting picked in the team for the last six games.
Southgate has plenty of options at right back – with Alexander-Arnold, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier – but Kyle Walker’s actions have been described as ‘the final nail in the coffin’.
‘I want to take this opportunity to issue a public apology for the choices I made last week,’ said Walker in a statement on Sunday. ‘I understand that my position as a professional footballer brings the responsibility of being a role model. As such, I want to apologise to my family, friends, football club, supporters and the public for letting them down.
‘There are heroes out there making a vital difference to society at the moment, and I have been keen to help support and highlight their amazing sacrifices and life-saving work over the past week. My actions are in direct contrast to what I should have been doing regarding the lockdown.’
By contrast, it was announced on Monday that both Southgate and England women’s boss Phil Neville would take 30% pay cuts to their salaries as the FA deals with the financial repercussions of the coronavirus.
