Villa trio fined for nightclub fight

Three Aston Villa players have been captured on video in an early morning fight outside a Birmingham nightclub.

Australian Chris Herd and team-mates Fabian Delph and James Collins fought with bouncers outside the Gatecrasher nightclub at 2.45am, just hours after Villa’s player-of-the-year awards on Monday night (local time).

None of the players were believed to be drinking at the award presentations but the night turned sour for the group later, just days before a crucial match against Tottenham at Villa Park on Saturday as the club fights relegation.

Herd, who has made 17 English Premier League appearances for the club in an impressive season, was seen kicking glass doors outside the nightclub.

“I would like to apologise for what happened on Monday night and I apologise for being out at that time,” Herd said in a statement.

“We had gone to a club after the end-of-season dinner with girlfriends and wives accompanying us. It was no one’s intention to get involved in any trouble but I realise that my actions on the night were not acceptable.

“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.

“I’m sorry to the fans and I’ll do everything I can to make it up to them as they have been fantastic since I’ve come into the team.

“I would also like to apologise to the club and my immediate aim is to help the team to finish the season strongly and to secure our position in the Premier League.”

An Aston Villa statement confirmed that the players had been fined, with the money going to charity.

“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 the club are promoting at the game against Spurs on Sunday – Cure Leukaemia and Anthony Nolan,” a club statement 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.

“As a club, players, management and fans are completely focused on Sunday’s game against Spurs at Villa Park.”

Aston Villa are 15th on the table, three points above the relegation zone with two matches left.