Ireland football manager Mick McCarthy is in self-isolation in London with his wife due to the coronavirus pandemic, describing their situation to the Football Association of Ireland website as ‘very frightening.’
The 61-year-old
revealed two nearby neighbours had been diagnosed with the illness provoking
him and his wife Fiona to self-isolate.
Britain ordered a
three-week lockdown on Monday in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus as the
country’s death toll has climbed to 335.
McCarthy is in his
second spell as Ireland manager and had been due to take the team to Slovakia
for a Euro 2020 play-off first leg match.
However, Euro 2020
has been postponed to next year and the play-offs tentatively re-scheduled to
June.
“I am back home in
Bromley and isolating as two of our near neighbours have been diagnosed with
coronavirus and it is now very real and very frightening for us,” McCarthy said
in an interview on the website.
“Like so many
others, we are trying so hard to play by the rules here and stay at home. My
wife Fiona and I are not seeing our children, or our grandchildren, and it’s
tough. It is very real now.”
The England-born
McCarthy renowned for being a no-nonsense centre back and former captain of
Ireland – capped 57 times – cited the chilling images emanating from the
hardest hit of the European countries Italy.
“You look at the
footage of the Italian army carrying coffins from houses and it shows you where
this could end up,” he said.
“That’s the threat
this poses.
“We were in
Amsterdam for the Nations League draw three weeks ago this Tuesday and Covid-19
was a topic of real interest – now it is a pandemic and it is spreading so
quickly.
“Postponing our
game in Slovakia and delaying the Euros for a year was the right thing to do.
We are not complaining about that, not at all.”