Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana are understood to have escaped Football Association sanction following their alleged visit to a Bournemouth strip club while on international duty with England but the ruling body is now tightening up its code of conduct.
The Liverpool midfielders left the England team hotel at Watford and headed to the south coast a day after their World Cup qualifying win against Scotland and less than three days before the drawn friendly with Spain last week.
As Gareth Southgate had granted his players’ downtime after the defeat of Scotland, Henderson, who captained England in the 2-2 Wembley draw with Spain, and Lallana did not break any formal rules but, having trusted his squad to behave sensibly, the country’s acting manager has reason to feel a little let down.
“All England personnel have a responsibility to behave appropriately at all times,” the FA said in a statement. “We will be reviewing our policy around free time whilst on international duty.”
Although the FA is consequently believed to have decided to ban England players from nights out while on international duty and also indicated that they will spend more time at St George’s Park than in Watford’s popular Grove Hotel before games, Henderson and Lallana did not contravene the code of players’ conduct now being updated. Significantly, the new version is likely to replace the existing system of merely offering general guidelines with some specifically spelt out rules.
The hope is that this will eliminate the prospect of repeating the embarrassing furore surrounding England’s usual captain Wayne Rooney, who was pictured looking inebriated after joining a wedding party at the Grove the night after the Scotland game. Although injury ruled the Manchester United forward out of the Spain game, his behaviour guaranteed the re-emergence of England players’ conduct as a hot topic.
Accordingly FA officials are also investigating further claims that other members of Southgate’s squad were out late at a London nightclub on the same evening.
