'Babe': Icelandic girl invited back to hotel by England stars posts first pics since sorry duo were banished over Snapchat scandal
Lara Clausen, the 19-year-old who was invited to England's Reykjavik hotel by Premier League pair Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood, has shared a snap on Instagram – and her cousin who was also involved has offered a gushing reply.
Clausen claimed that she and her 20-year-old cousin, Nadia Sif Lindal Gunnarsdottir, "didn't know any better" and "didn't know they were quarantining" after secretly meeting the England starlets at their hotel earlier this month.
The duo's indiscretions were discovered after footage shared by law student Clausen on Snapchat was obtained by Icelandic outlet DV, causing England manager Gareth Southgate to send them home from a training camp ahead of the trip to Denmark in the Nations League.
She apologized for breaching the strict bubble regulations the England stars were subject to while they were on international duty and said she sympathized with Manchester City midfielder Foden, his long-term girlfriend and son and his team-mates.
Now Clausen appears to have recovered from her "huge mistake", posting a photo of herself wearing heavy makeup and pouting at the camera, accompanied by an emoji showing a pair of eyes staring in her direction.
Gunnarsdottir, who produced an almost simultaneous shot from a boat at sea, called her relative a "babe" in the comments.
The admiration was clearly mutual as Clausen declared Gunnarsdottir "my beauty queen" under the nautical photos she had shared, which she captioned "aye aye, captain".
The elder of the glamorous girls is represented by London modeling agency BAME and was a finalist for Iceland at Miss Universe 2019, according to her Instagram account which also features a shot of her posted by Russian Vogue earlier this year.
Clausen had insisted that she had not searched for their famous hosts on Google and was unaware that they were high-profile footballers, putting the saga down to being "young and stupid".
She joined Gunnarsdottir in praising their treatment by Foden and Greenwood, calling them "such gentlemen" who "treated us really well."
“It was a good night that we had, of course," added Gunnarsdottir, giving little of their experience away.
"We were all the four of us spending time together and getting to know each other. They were really nice guys.”
Manchester United issued a statement in which 18-year-old Greenwood spoke of his sorrow for the "embarrassment" he had caused and apologized for being "irresponsible".
Foden, who is 20 and has a one-year-old son with long-term partner Rebecca Cooke, also issued a "full apology" on social media.
Both players had made their senior debuts for England in the 1-0 win in Iceland before being banished from the camp for their meeting with Clausen and Gunnarsdottir.
They resume their domestic seasons with their clubs within the next week, but the chances of their restoration to the England fold for their country's October internationals look less certain.
"I've got a lot to think about," admitted an aggravated Southgate after the subsequent 0-0 draw with Denmark, describing the incident as a "more than disappointing sideshow".
"Trust needs to be rebuilt and that takes time. There have to be consequences for what has happened.
"We've got to try to help them rebuild...[we won't] hold that against them forever.
"They've got every chance to rebuild and, with the spotlight that's on them and what they're having to go through at the moment, with what their families will be having to deal with, that's an incredible ordeal for young people.
"I don't think you can underestimate the impact that will have on them.
"I don't really understand how players could have thought that was acceptable."
Also on rt.com ‘It was a huge mistake’: Women who met England stars in team hotel ‘really sorry’ after ‘gentlemen’ Foden, Greenwood sent home