England’s Jadon Sancho has been fined for breaching health guidelines around the spread of COVID-19 during a haircut – and his bosses at Dortmund have questioned why photos were taken of the styling session and blamed his age.
Sancho and Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji have been punished by the German Football League for violating “hygiene and infection protection standards” when they received haircuts from Dusseldorf-based Afro specialist Winnie Nana Karkari, posing afterwards for photos that infuriated club sporting director Michael Zorc.
Karkari insisted he had only removed protective equipment for the photos, but Zorc’s dim view of the visit suggests some sympathy for the decision by the league to discipline the 20-year-old Londoner, who has previously flown home for haircuts with celebrity barber Sheldon Edwards.
“I don’t understand why you have to take pictures of it,” Zorc told Bild, explaining that the club had discussed the need to comply with strict regulations around the spread of the coronavirus with Karkari.
“As far as we know…the hygiene regulations were observed and even facial visors were worn. Everyone affirms that these were only removed for the photo.”
Zorc admitted that even the temporary removal of the equipment was a violation of guidelines and said the club had been in touch with league officials before the fines were issued.
“We spoke to the players very clearly about it and clearly explained how they should behave,” he revealed. “We must not forget that Jadon is very young and is testing the limits.”
Coach Lucien Favre echoed Zorc’s view that the indiscretion was partly due to youthful naivety. The BVB boss also dismissed talk that the England livewire could face action for unveiling a t-shirt highlighting the protests in the US around the killing of George Floyd during his side’s 6-1 win at Paderborn on Sunday, saying he backed his player’s decision “100 per cent.”
Hours before Sancho courted controversy with his cut, Sheldon posted a Simpsons-style illustration of himself cutting the forward’s hair while wearing a mask and gloves on the pitch at Borussia’s stadium.
The hairdresser, who has more than 377,000 followers on Instagram and counts Manchester City striker Raheem Sterling and Chelsea targetman Olivier Giroud among his clients, asked fans for their opinions on Sancho’s new tattoos and added: “Always wanted to cut hair on the pitch.
“Of course, it’s best to practise social distancing measures: mask and gloves on for safety.”
