Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has apologised for breaking the government's lockdown orders, after leaving his house to visit a friend.
Individuals are only permitted to leave their house to purchase urgent supplies or exercise in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
However, just hours after releasing a video on social media urging fans to stay at home, Grealish was allegedly involved in a car accident after visiting his former Villa teammate Ross McCormack's house for a party.
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) March 30, 2020
In a video released on Twitter, the 24-year-old apologetically admitted that he had left his house to meet a friend.
"I just want to say how deeply embarrassed I am by what's happened this weekend," Grealish said.
"I know it's a tough time for everyone being locked indoors for so long and I just got a call of a friend asking to go round to his. I stupidly agreed to do so.
"I don't want anyone to make the same mistake that I did. I urge everyone to stay at home and follow the rules and the guidelines of what we've been asked to do.
"I know I'll be doing that in the near future now so I urge everyone to do the same. I hope everyone can accept my apology and move on from this and hopefully in the near future we can be out enjoying ourselves again once this has all boiled over."
Aston Villa confirmed that they had fined Grealish, with the proceeds going to a local charity.
In a statement released on their website, Villa wrote: "
"Club Captain Jack Grealish has accepted that his decision to leave his house was wrong and entirely unnecessary. It breached the government guidelines which are clear and should be adhered to by everybody.
"The player will be disciplined and fined with the proceeds donated to The University Hospitals Charity in Birmingham."
Source : 90min