SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER Ana Brnabic has hit out at Luka Jovic over claims that the Real Madrid striker broke a quarantine order in his homeland.
The 22-year-old forward, who moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer from Eintracht Frankfurt, was alleged to have been seen partying in the streets of Belgrade after returning to his homeland to celebrate the birthday of his girlfriend.
Serbian players had previously been urged to refrain from returning home in a bid to stop the spread of the virus, which has infected over 225,000 people across the world, resulting in more than 9,000 deaths.
Spain has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, which has caused the virtual lockdown of the entire country, with more than 17,000 cases and 767 deaths.
“We have negative examples of our footballers, who are paid very well, ignoring mandatory self-isolation upon returning home,” Brnabic said of the player’s actions, according to AS.
With reports of more than 45,000 people returning home, with many ignoring isolation orders, Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said: “We have written criminal reports against some of these famous athletes. These people will respond when the court determines that the time has come for that.”
Real Madrid players and staff find themselves quarantined following the discovery that basketball player Trey Thompkins tested positive for the disease.
Jovic took to Instagram to apologise and explain himself.
“Considering that the situation in the world and in our country is very difficult, as it has not been remembered for a long time, I have to express myself and encourage everyone,” begins Jovic, according to AS.
“First of all, I am very sorry that I am the main topic these days, and I am sorry that it is constantly written about me and not about the main protagonists in the fight against this crisis, which are the doctors and all those who work in healthcare. In Madrid my Covic-19 test was negative. So I decided to travel to Serbia, help and support our people, in addition to being close to my family, with the permission of my club.
“When I arrived in Serbia, they gave me the test and it came out negative,” he added. “I am very sorry that some people have not done their job professionally and have not given me specific instructions on how I should behave during my isolation.”