Yahoo News Eight Aberdeen players apologise for bar visit that broke lockdown rules: 'We made a huge error of judgement'
A group of eight Aberdeen footballers have issued a joint apology for their trip to a city centre bar last weekend that breached lockdown guidelines.
Jonny Hayes, Michael Devlin, Scott McKenna, Matty Kennedy, Sam Cosgrove, Dylan McGeouch, Craig Bryson and Bruce Anderson all accepted they had made a "huge error in judgement" by visiting the venue together after the defeat to Rangers and exceeding the number of households allowed to meet.
Two of those Aberdeen players subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 and entered a 10-day period of isolation, while the other six are also self-isolating for a fortnight due to being in "close proximity" with the two positive cases.
The club's second 2020/21 Scottish Premiership fixture away to St Johnstone - due to take place at McDiarmid Park on Saturday - was initially set to go ahead as scheduled before later being postponed, with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declaring herself "furious" with the players in question.
That group have now apologised together via the official club website, stating they had let down the club and manager Derek McInnes.
"First and foremost we would like to apologise to every AFC fan, the manager, everyone at the Club, the football authorities, the First Minister, all healthcare workers along with everyone else that has worked tirelessly around the clock to get the country, and in particular football, back up and running again," their statement began.
"We, as a small group of players, made a huge error of judgement last weekend by thinking it was ok to visit a city centre venue together.
"None of us could have foreseen the escalation of Covid-19 cases in the Grampian area, nor did we deliberately attempt to flout or disobey Government guidelines which we all must adhere to, or indeed the clear guidelines set out by the club.
"This was by no means a team night out as has been portrayed and while we attempted to comply with Government social distancing guidelines, we now recognise that our group of 8 exceeded the number of households permitted to meet up.
"This was a genuine error on our part as professional football players, and in doing so, we have let our manager down.
"As players we appreciate our Club has gone above and beyond to put protocols in place to protect us and it was never our intention to put those in jeopardy, or to put our teammates or football staff at risk.
"As a player group, we once again apologise unreservedly to the fans, the manager, the Board and all the staff at the Club."
On Wednesday, lockdown restrictions were reimposed on the city of Aberdeen after 54 new cases emerged in a coronavirus cluster.
That number has since risen to more than 100.
