Arsenal legend Theo Walcott has slammed the England star for “abandoning” two mascots suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia ahead of a game against Wales.
There was a heart-wrenching moment before the England vs Wales friendly at Wembley last week as the match’s mascots were a man and woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The Three Lions were praised for their performance in a 3-0 win over Wales and booked their place in next summer’s World Cup with a 5-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday night.
The FA’s work with the Alzheimer’s Society has been largely praised for raising awareness and huge fundraising efforts.
But former Arsenal star Walcott, who was present to receive his Legacy Cap, pointed out that there was a “sad” element to the England v Wales match with two mascots “departing” from the players.
“I’m more of a positive person, but let me start with the negative because of course I went to the Wales game and it was a friendly and you never know what it’s going to be like,” Walcott told Overlap US.
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“I thought it was a really beautiful moment when I actually received the Legacy Cap. There was a video in the game about Alzheimer’s and dementia, raising awareness for this. A lot of people suffer from this.”
“They had a beautiful moment where the mascot came out and it was great. The older generation of people that came out and the players took them out. It was a great moment.”
“But during the national anthem, we realized we had left two of them behind and one of them was in a wheelchair.
“Basically, they all came out and when the Welsh people sang the national anthem, they all came together and so did the mascot.
“The sad part with England… and it’s not seen, it’s not known… people don’t really see it because they’re watching the performance, but that’s fine.
“But it’s really frustrating when you see players working on something. Are they really conscious? Do they really know what they’re working on? Do they even know about charity work?
“Sometimes players don’t really understand what they’re doing and that’s the frustrating part. Players need to be aware of this disease because it’s very important to be aware of it.”
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Walcott also appealed to England’s players to be aware of their “responsibility”, saying the “sad moment” showed a “mindset”.
“I don’t like to single out players, but it just shows the idea that people and players have forgotten about that person,” Walcott continued.
“It was a very interesting and sad moment when I saw this guy in a wheelchair. It was Sir Geoff Hurst who was in the 1966 World Cup final and shot the video. I told this gentleman that he was going to be the mascot and that he was obviously in a state of disrepair.”
“Then during the national anthem he walked away and there were all the England players there and no one was trying to help so it was tough to watch.
“I don’t want to say too much about it, but I just think it’s important to realize. Sure, you’re a football player, but you have a little bit of responsibility to take care of the mascot.”
“It doesn’t matter if they’re kids, it doesn’t matter if they’re older, and I think that was the only thing that pissed me off the whole UK trip.
“You have to understand that families are watching all of this. They remember it. In that moment, the mascot is not. When you think about it, that’s a sad truth.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, but it was really sad. I think the FA should take a hard look at themselves in that sense.”
“They (the FA) were great, but a cause like this…I looked at it, but no one really looked at it properly, so it was interesting.”
