Watford players Andre Gray, Nathaniel Chalobah, and Domingos Quina apologized to their teammates and manager Nigel Pearson for violating the blackout rules to attend a birthday party together.
Gray posted photos of friends playing soccer in his garden on Instagram on a property he shared with his fiancé, Little Mix singer Leigh Anne-Pinnock.
The video, which was later deleted, clearly showed a larger group of people than the government-recommended maximum of six.
Gray, Chalobah and Quina were involved in the game. As a result, they were eliminated from the squad that lost 3-1 to Southampton on Sunday “to ensure the health and safety of all players, staff and officials.”
According to the Daily Mail, the three apologized during Monday’s training and could be recalled to the team for the Hornets’ next game against Chelsea on Saturday if they pass their next coronavirus tests.
However, they are likely to remain subject to disciplinary action from the club and they will most likely be fined each time.
When asked about their situation after the defeat against the Saints, a clearly unfortunate manager, Nigel Pearson, said: “Until I know all the facts, I will not make any further comments on the situation.”
Watford will need all the help they can get to avoid relegation, and they are currently in 16th place, but only one point away from dropping after playing one game more than West Ham and Bournemouth.
Pearson added, “We are fighting for our lives because we have not found the levels of performance that we need.
(Image: Getty)
“We were the second best for too long. You can’t concede goals like ours, give your opponents gifts. That makes work more difficult.”
“We have to show cohesion again as a group of people. It is frustrating at the moment because we are not delivering the services that we know we can do.”
“We still have games in which we ourselves have to make sure we secure our future in the Premier League. Nobody will do that for us.”
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