GARETH SOUTHGATE has been left shocked by the levels of abuse he received for urging youngsters to get jabbed.
The England manager revealed yesterday he has suffered a backlash after posting a video last month – and the criticism was greater than anything he received concerning Euro 2020.
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Asked whether he believes all players should have two vaccinations, Southgate said: “My understanding – although I’ve not spoken to people at every club – is the take-up has been varied across different clubs.
“I’m not going to get too involved in this, because I was asked to do a video supporting the vaccination programme, which I thought was responsible, and of all the things I received abuse for over the summer – of which there’s been several – that’s probably the one I’ve received the most abuse over.
“So I’m probably going to keep out of that argument for the time being.”
As for the abuse, he added: “I’ve sort of accepted it’s part of the job, that is the nature of the job, and of course when you want to try to make a difference, and take the right sort of stance on taking the knee and other things, then you know you are not going to please everybody and there are extreme views on lots of those subjects as well.
“I’m always happy to support the greater good, and I think that’s right.
“I’m not the one who has to open some of that mail and some of those emails because my poor secretary has dealt with quite a lot of that, so that is the reality.”
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Southgate still believes it will be more helpful if players are double jabbed due to the travelling involved.
He said: “If they are over 18 then they have the right to make their own decisions. No one is saying they have to but I think as we go through the season some of the quarantining issues with Europe and everything else are going to be more complicated if you are not vaccinated.
“So I don’t know if that will play a factor in how clubs feel.”