The health secretary has taken aim at a handful of ‘disappointing’ players on England’s national football team who are reportedly refusing to get the Covid jab.
Sajid Javid suggested the unnamed players are letting the country down and called on them to recognise their power as ‘role models’.
At least five members of the England men’s squad, including three who played in this summer’s Euros, are unvaccinated, the Sun reported on Saturday.
They face being ditched ahead of next year’s World Cup in Qatar as the tournament’s organisers are expected to ban anyone who hasn’t had at least two doses of the vaccine.
Asked about the claims, Mr Javid told Times Radio on Sunday: ‘I would just appeal to these people, whether they are footballers, whoever it is… that the vaccines are working. Help protect yourself and protect those around you.
‘They’ve made a conscious choice. It is disappointing, of course it is… They are role models in society.
‘People, especially young people, I think will look up to them and they should recognise that and the difference that can make in terms of encouraging others.
A separate report this week indicated that the vast majority of players in the Premier League have yet to be vaccinated.
Less than half of players at 13 of the 20 clubs in the Premier League have been fully inoculated, with the overall average said to be around one-third of players.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, whose side is 99 per cent double-jabbed, said he was at a loss to explain the other players’ decisions, comparing them to people who get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.
He said: ‘I explain it a little bit like drink-driving. We were all probably in a situation where we had a beer or two and thought ‘I can drive’.
‘But this law is not there for protecting me, it is there for protecting all the other people because I am pissed and want to drive a car. And we accept that as a law.
‘We all know alcohol is bad for our body but we still drink it. With the vaccination we assume it is not good for our body.
He added: ‘Most specialists tell us the vaccination is the solution for the situation in this moment.’
‘I don’t take the vaccination only to protect me, I take the vaccination to protect all the people around me.’
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston acknowledged that some people cannot take the jab for medical reasons but ‘strongly urged’ anyone who is simply ‘unwilling to get vaccinated’ to change their minds.
He suggested the footballers may have fallen victim to ‘misinformation online’.
England manager Gareth Southgate previously said: ‘I think we have to make the right representations because we have a responsibility to the broader public to help people get through the virus, but also I understand young people are going to have individual views on how they see it and they’re going to be influenced by what they read and what they see, so it is a far from straightforward cycle.’
He claimed the team’s doctors are not disclosing to him which players are vaccinated, but suggested their ‘medical confidentiality’ may have to be broken when it comes to accessing tournaments with vaccination requirements.
While supporting vaccination, he appeared to deny jab requirements would harm England’s chances, adding: ‘whenever the players are with us we’re always going to be in a bubble and on a sporting exemption, so I guess the bigger issue is going to be players going back to clubs or clubs travelling in certain countries.’
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