Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho could find himself in hot water with both the club and the authorities after he and some members of his squad flouted social distancing rules by training in a London park.
Mourinho was photographed at an outdoor training session at Hadley Common in north London with midfielder Tanguy Ndombele despite government guidelines for people to stay indoors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Centre-back Davinson Sanchez and left-back Ryan Sessegnon were filmed by passers-by running together through the park, while right-back Serge Aurier uploaded a picture to social media of him jogging alongside a friend.
In response to these images, Tottenham have reminded their staff to respect the government guidelines.
"All of our players have been reminded to respect social distancing when exercising outdoors. We shall continue to reinforce this message," a Spurs spokesperson told British media.
According to UK government guidelines, people are permitted to go outside to exercise once per day, but are instructed to do so alone or with a member from the same household
Tottenham have already drawn public criticism for their decision to impose pay cuts on the club's 550-strong non-playing staff while relying on the UK government's furlough-relief scheme.
Mourinho organised a "training session" with Ndombele, Sessegnon & Sanchez on Hadley Common in Barnet. The club is not impressed with the decision.
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) April 7, 2020
[Evening Standard] pic.twitter.com/MDV7ddaw6j
The Premier League was suspended last month because of the pandemic and the government has asked the public to stay at home to help slow the spread of the virus.
Over in Germany, a number of Bundesliga clubs have returned to their training grounds, including champions Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, and Bayer Leverkusen.
However, the players are adhering to social distancing by training only in pairs and two metres apart, which you can see in the photo gallery below.
