West Ham boss David Moyes has hit back at the critics who want football’s Covidiots to be dealt with more harshly than other members of society who have also flouted the rules.
Hammers midfielder Manuel Lanzini met up with Tottenham stars Giovani Lo Celso, Erik Lamela and Sergio Reguilon over Christmas, and both clubs have dealt with their players internally.
That has led to calls for the FA or Premier League to take charge of punishments
But Moyes is adamant that need not be the case and that footballers should not be made an example of.
He said: “If you’re going to take tough measures on players then you might as well take them on the Government people who broke the rules as well, because it’s certainly not just football players who have done it.
“You have to be careful. A lot of people are throwing stones in glass houses at the minute and, from that point of view, we all know what the protocols are, we all know we have to be ever vigilant and doing the right things, but we can all make mistakes as well.
“Manuel understood he made a mistake, he has apologised for it. He has made a donation to a food bank and that’s a really good gesture.
“But you have to be careful because there are a lot of people out there who are claiming things should be different, and players are doing a remarkable job to make sure football keeps going and they keep playing.
“We have to be careful that everybody isn’t picking on football players.
“We will all know people who have broken the rules in their own way.
“The players have followed the protocols.
“Every day at the training ground they have to go through rituals just to get into the building.
“They know what their job is. Like most human beings at times, they can get things wrong.”
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