Arsenal legend Theo Walcott has hit out at England’s stars for “leaving” two mascots suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia before the Wales match.
Before last week’s friendly between England and Wales at Wembley, there was a poignant moment as the game’s mascots were men and women suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
The Three Lions have been praised for their performance against Wales as they strolled to a 3-0 victory, while they booked their place at next summer’s World Cup by beating Latvia 5-0 on Tuesday night.
The FA’s work with the Alzheimer’s Society has largely been praised, as it has raised awareness and there have been huge fundraising efforts.
However, former Arsenal star Walcott, who was in attendance to receive his legacy cap, has pointed out that there was a “sad” element to England’s match versus Wales, with two mascots “left” by the players.
“I’m more of a positive person but let me start with a negative because being at the Wales game, of course it was a friendly and you never know what kind of game you’re going to get,” Walcott said on The Overlap US.
“I thought it was a really beautiful moment when I was actually receiving my legacy cap, there was a video about Alzheimer’s and dementia in the game and creating awareness for this, a lot of people suffer from this.
“They had the beautiful moment where the mascots came out which was amazing, people of the older generation who have come out and the players have walked them off. Amazing moment.
“However, I did notice during the national anthems that they left two of them, one of them that was in a wheelchair.
“Basically, they all came out and when the Welsh did their national anthem, they all huddled together and the mascots were all together.
“The sad bit with England… and it’s not been seen, it’s not been known… people haven’t really seen it because they look at the performance which is fine.
“However, it really frustrates me when I see the players that will go into something and do they really have awareness? Do they really know what they’re going into? Do they even know about the charities?
“Sometimes players don’t really understand what they’re doing at times and that’s the frustrating bit. They should be aware because it’s really important to recognise this disease.”
Walcott has also pleaded with England’s players to realise their “responsibility” as this “sad moment” shows “the mindset”.
“I don’t like to single out players. However, it just shows the mindset where people and players forget about the person,” Walcott continued.
“It was such an interesting and sad moment when I saw the chap in the wheelchair, bless him, who was at the 1966 World Cup final and Sir Geoff Hurst did the video, to say to this gentleman that’s he’s going to be the mascot and he’s obviously in bits.
“And then [during] the national anthem he’s left, where the England players all huddle up, and that was tough to see because none of the guys were trying to help.
“I don’t want to dwell on that but I just feel it’s important to recognise: yes, you’re a footballer, however, have a bit of responsibility in looking after the mascots.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re children, it doesn’t matter if they’re older, and I think that was the one thing that angered me about the whole England journey.
“You’ve got to realise that the families have seen all this, they will remember it. In that moment, the mascot won’t and that’s the sad truth when you think about it.
“I don’t want to dwell on that but it was really sad to see. I think the FA should really look at themselves in that sense.
“They [the FA] have been brilliant, however, a cause like this… I saw it, but no one saw it properly, so it was interesting.”