West Brom star puts vaccine controversy behind him in pursuit of international success

West Bromwich Albion forward Callum Robinson has opened up on the Covid-19 controversy that surrounded him late last year.

The 27-year-old attracted worldwide media attention in October 2021 after admitting that he refused to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. And that’s despite contracting it twice and missing seven Irish internationals as a result of Covid-related issues.

Robinson is back with the Republic of Ireland national team this month and played one half of an hour-long friendly against the Irish under-21s on Sunday. He then faced the Irish media, the first time he has done so since making his vaccine admission.

"I didn’t think it was that big a thing and then it blew up," Robinson said, reflecting on that hectic week last year. "But I just wanted to get on the pitch really and do my thing and let my football do the talking.

“I wanted to let people see what I could do on the pitch, and forget what was happening off the pitch. It topped it off when I got the two goals on the Saturday (against Azerbaijan) and then the three on the Tuesday (against Qatar). That was the best part of it.”

The West Brom player declined the opportunity to say if he has been vaccinated since and says he just wants to "move on" from the whole saga. With the help of his teammates and coaching staff, he says that he was able to stay in the right frame of mind.

“First of all, we are all human. It wasn’t even a conversation of whether I was right for Saturday," he said.

“It was just, ‘How are you, are you okay, we are here for you if you need anything’. From the staff to the players, they all just wanted to make sure I was okay, not for the game, just to make sure my head was alright.

“And honestly, my head was fine. Perfectly fine.