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West Brom Name Four Players Involved In Barcelona Taxi Incident

West Brom Name Four Players Involved In Barcelona Taxi Incident

An official apology has been released

Joe Baiamonte

Joe Baiamonte

West Bromwich Albion have named the four players involved in the theft of a taxi in Barcelona.

Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill have been revealed to be the guilty parties in an incident which saw the quartet steal a taxi from a McDonald's drive thru and abandon it near their hotel.

That's right, Gareth Barry stole a taxi. Can just imagine him now, steadying away as the getaway driver at a sensible 5mph, passing his McChicken nuggets sideways across the taxi to the rest of his teammates.

The club officially released a statement yesterday, which said:

"The Club can confirm that four senior players were involved in an incident during this week's mid-winter training trip to Spain. The Club has instigated its own investigation into the incident and the players will be subject to the full rigours of our internal disciplinary procedures.

"Until such time as that investigation has been completed, the Club will not be making any further comment."



And now, an apology on behalf of Barry, Myhill, Evans and Livermore has been issued on the Baggies' official website.

Statement on behalf of Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill.

"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our team-mates, the Head Coach, the Club and especially the supporters for the events which have been the subject of widespread and negative publicity.

"We felt it important we identify ourselves as the players involved in an incident which occurred during the training camp in Spain this week out of respect for team-mates who otherwise could be implicated by association.

"We freely acknowledge and apologise for the break of curfew which we accept represented a breach of the standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion FC.

"The Club has informed us that it will now conduct its own inquiry into the incident and we will co-operate fully.

"In the meantime, we would like to assure our supporters that this incident does not reflect the determination and resolve we possess to do all we can to recover a difficult season."


It's been another week to forget for West Brom. Image: PA
It's been another week to forget for West Brom. Image: PA

It's been an absolute train wreck of a season for West Brom. Already in trouble under Tony Pulis they sacked the manager who usually keeps teams up in favour of Alan Pardew but things have hardly got better.

The former Crystal Palace manager, usually known for his new manager bounces and ability to make an instant impact, has managed one Premier League win in his time at the Hawthorns.


The incident in Barcelona is the last thing Alan Pardew needed. Image: PA Images.
The incident in Barcelona is the last thing Alan Pardew needed. Image: PA Images.

A source for the Regional Mossos d'Esquadra police told the Mirror, "It appears the players had headed to the Barcelona Olympic Port but found everything closed so late on which is normal for midweek.

"They decided to take a taxi to a McDonald's drive-through nearby and somehow and for some reason, left there in the cab but without the cab driver. The receptionist at the hotel they were staying at phoned police when she saw the taxi had been left unattended outside.

"Around the same time Mossos received a call from the stranded taxi driver. The four players who had got back to their hotel in the cab were taken to a local police station. They weren't formally arrested but they were taken to the station as suspects being investigated for a crime of vehicle theft so they could be identified."

It's not been a good week for the Baggies with chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman being sacked amid the club being bottom of the Premier League table and staring relegation in the eyes.

What punishment will be brought against the four players remains to be seen.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, West Bromwich Albion, Premier League