Aberdeen players issue an apology
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The eight Aberdeen players who broke lockdown rules have made a public apology this afternoon.
Aberdeen Football Club released a statement which is attributed to Jonny Hayes, Michael Devlin, Scott McKenna, Matty Kennedy, Sam Cosgrove, Dylan McGeouch, Craig Bryson and Bruce Anderson.
It reads: "First and foremost we would like to apologise to every AFC fan, the manager and everyone at the Club, the football authorities, the First Minister and 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.
"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 flaunt 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 eight exceeded the number of households permitted to meet up.
"This was a genuine error on our part as professional football players and in doing do 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 that in jeopardy or to put our teammates of 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.
"Signed Jonny, Michael, Scott, Matty, Sam, Dylan, Craig and Bruce.
AFC Chairman, Dave Cormack, said: "Regrettably, what has happened in the last few days has undermined all the hard work that has gone into keeping our players and staff safe.
"We are now dealing with this internally with the seriousness it deserves.
“In the meantime, I’d like to reassure the relevant bodies, our fans and everyone associated with the Club that our already rigorous measures are being forensically scrutinised and that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring that no-one is under any doubt about what must be adhered to.”
