Updated May 05, 2012 09:38:18
English Premier League player Chris Herd has been fined and disciplined for his part in a nightclub brawl just days out from his side's biggest match of the season.
The young Australian was at the centre of some ugly scenes after being bundled out of Birmingham's Gatecrasher club by bouncers just before 3am on Tuesday.
Video footage showed the 23-year-old Herd kicking out several times and needing to be restrained after he and Aston Villa teammates James Collins and Fabian Delph partied on following the club's player of the year awards.
In the footage, the doorman warns: "The Old Bill are on their way now. So if you want to get nicked you carry on boys."
Witness Jonathan White, 19, said: "They were being very abusive to the bouncers. After a while, Collins and Delph dragged Herd away around the corner."
Aston Villa released a carefully scripted apology from all three players.
"It was no one's intention to get involved in any trouble but I realise that my actions on the night were not acceptable," Herd said.
"Even if I felt at the time that the prior situation inside the nightclub had not been dealt with properly, I still should not have acted in the manner in which I did."
Aston Villa have had a disappointing season and sit just three points above the relegation zone with two rounds to play.
They host Tottenham this weekend and finish the season at Norwich.
The normally mild-mannered West Australian signed on with Aston Villa as a 15-year-old and his move to the club in 2005 had started to pay massive dividends.
After making his EPL debut in 2010, Herd has become a regular starter for the Birmingham club this campaign.
He has played in 17 EPL matches as a defensive midfielder despite missing two and half months with an ankle injury.
He signed a deal in December that kept him at the club until 2015 for a reported STG15,000 ($A23,765) a week.
The uncapped Herd was called up for Australia's World Cup qualifiers last year against Thailand and Oman only to be ruled out with injury.
He is expected to be considered when Socceroos coach Holger Osieck picks his squad for the June 2 friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen followed by a World Cup qualifier in Oman six days later.
Aston Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner was livid at the conduct of Herd and his team-mates.
"The club dealt with this matter internally on Tuesday and the players in question have been disciplined, with the fines being split between two charities," he said.
"Our players attended the club's end-of-season dinner on Monday night and training on Tuesday was limited to players who did not start in Saturday's Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion and those not carrying injuries."
Aston Villa coach Alex McLeish said the bad behaviour was "a slur on the club".
Speaking of Herd and Collins, McLeish said: "If selected I think the most important thing is that they've been punished.
"They've shown a bit of humility, which is the least we can expect.
"It happens at every club. It happens at even the top clubs. It's the culture of one pint too many.
"I think it reflects badly on (club owner) Randy Lerner, the club, myself and most importantly the players themselves.
"They owe us. They have to give us a performance that we will be proud of."
Tags: sport,
soccer,
english-premier,
england First posted May 05, 2012 09:07:36
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