Piers Morgan has slammed England trio Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho after they were pictured at a party which breached the government's "rule of six" guidelines.
Abraham turned 23 on Friday and his family and friends organised a party at his home on Saturday evening.
The event, attended by Chilwell and Sancho, had more than six people at the property which is against the rules put in place by the government to help lower the spread of coronavirus.
It is understood temperature checks were made on guests but the breach by the England players comes just weeks after England boss Gareth Southgate sent home Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood for breaking protocols while with the squad in Iceland.
And Morgan, who rarely misses out on an opportunity to speak out on matters, gave a damning assessment of the incident and called on Southgate to leave them out of the squad for the upcoming matches against Wales, Belgium and Denmark.
"Why isn't the FA just dropping them? And when are England players going to wake up?," Morgan said on Good Morning Britain.
"How many more of them have to ignore the Covid rules before the penny drops in their heads?
"But actually if you don't, we'll end up back in national lockdown?
"It's just completely irresponsible. Sorry, but Gareth Southgate - as England manager - has got to take a stand.
"He's got to drop these players... they've got to learn there are consequences to this kind of reckless behaviour."
Abraham has since apologised for his involvement and expressed his 'regret'.
"On Saturday evening I arrived home to find a small surprise gathering had been organised for me with family and close friends to celebrate my birthday," Abraham said.
"Although I was totally unaware this was planned, I would like to wholeheartedly apologise for the naivety shown by all for the organisation and attending of this gathering.
"I recognise that I have a responsibility both in my professional and personal life to honour and respect the guidelines and deeply regret that this took place.
"All I can do now is learn from it, apologise to everyone and ensure it never happens again."
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