West Brom investigate four players after stolen taxi allegations as Alan Pardew admits they've let down the club
Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill have apologised after they were interviewed by Spanish police for allegedly stealing a taxi in Barcelona
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Your support makes all the difference.Four senior West Bromwich Albion players were involved in an incident during a mid-winter training trip to Spain, with manager Alan Pardew admitting that they have let down the club as they continue to battle against relegation from the Premier League.
Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill issued a statement on Friday apologising after reports emerged that the four players were interviewed by the Spanish police for allegedly stealing a taxi after a night out in Barcelona.
According to reports in Spain, the cab was driven through a McDonald’s drive-thru before being abandoned outside the five-star hotel the players were staying in. Police said no arrests were made but investigations are continuing.
The club say the quartet will be “subject to the full rigours of our internal disciplinary procedures”, and that they will make no further comment until their investigation is completed, but Pardew criticised them regardless of the outcome of that investigation as they broke a team curfew by staying out late.
“It wasn’t what we wanted,” said Pardew ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round tie with Southampton. “We have gone there to try to get ourselves up and ready for this run-in, and this is obviously not ideal.
“They break a curfew, and that is unacceptable, and I feel a bit let down by that. There was a curfew on that evening and it was broken, and that is really all I’m going to comment really.
“As much as you want information and stuff, I think the club is clear it wants to investigate it properly, and I think that’s right, and we just want to concentrate on the game now, because it is a very important one for West Brom tomorrow.
“We have 11 games left and we are in the last 16 of the FA Cup, and our fans will want to see us put in a performance tomorrow.”
Pardew has taken his players to Barcelona for a warm-weather training camp in an effort to turnaround their fortunes since he replaced Tony Pulis. The Midlands’ side have picked up just one Premier League victory in 13 matches, leaving them bottom of the table and seven points off safety.
The club’s Chinese owner, Guochuan Lai, also decided to sack the chairman and chief executive earlier in the week, with Friday’s revelations coming at a particularly bad time in the club’s season.
The players released a joint statement which read: "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."
Regional Mossos d’Esquadra police earlier confirmed the incident as the players flew back home.
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