West Brom stars involved in ‘taxi-gate’ have case against them dropped by Spanish cops
Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill were thought to be facing a community service order or a fine
THE West Brom players who apologised after allegedly stealing a taxi to get back to their Spanish hotel have been told the case against them has been shelved.
It was thought skipper Jonny Evans, 30, Gareth Barry, 36, Jake Livermore, 28 and Boaz Myhill, 35, could face a community service order or a fine after “borrowing” the cab to get back to their beds and leaving their driver stranded.
But this morning it emerged a Barcelona court handed a police report into the incident had shelved its probe because of “lack of proof.”
A local court official said: “Investigating Court Of Instruction Number Two in Barcelona dealt with the case.
“The investigating magistrate decided to provisionally archive the case because, with the documentation he had, he felt there wasn’t sufficient evidence to continue with the case against the players.
“For the time being the case has been shelved although if new information appears it could be reopened.”
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A well-placed source said: “This decision signals the taxi driver decided against pressing charges.
“If he had decided to press charges, the case would have been continued.
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“Without him on board, the police are never going to insist on the players being prosecuted off their own backs.
“Something must have happened for the taxi driver to decide to drop his complaint. He was the one who got the McDonald’s staff to call police in the first place when he realised his taxi had gone.”
West Brom player's statement
The players' statement read: "We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our team-mates, the head coach, the club and especially the supporters for the events which have been the subject of widespread and negative publicity.
"We felt it important we identify ourselves as the players involved in an incident which occurred during the training camp in Spain this week out of respect for team-mates who otherwise could be implicated by association.
"We freely acknowledge and apologise for the break of curfew which we accept represented a breach of the standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion FC.
Ahead of confirmation of today’s court decision, it had been thought the players could receive a community service order lasting 31 to 90 days or a fine under Spanish law.
The four West Brom players were identified by police in a report handed to the investigating judge following the bizarre Thursday morning incident.
They broke a midnight curfew a midnight curfew and ended up in the 24-hour fast food restaurant at 5.30am.
McDonald’s duty manager Saray Ortega Gracia called cops when the driver told her his car had been taken as he ordered burgers for the players.
The 29-year-old said over the weekend: “The driver placed a big order - a Big Mac meal each and four chicken burgers and the bill was 31 Euros (£27.95).
“The driver got out to collect the order and one of the men got behind the wheel.
“They thought it was funny but I felt sorry for him. I didn’t learn they were rich footballers until later. I hope the police deal with them.”
Police later confirmed they passed the players’ details on to an investigating court after racing to their five-star boutique hotel The One to recover the taxi following a call from a concerned receptionist.
Evans, stripped of the West Brom captaincy as punishment ahead of his side’s disastrous FA Cup exit on Saturday, has apologised along with his three team-mates.
The bottom-of-the-table side has confirmed it has launched its own internal investigation into the incident, which occurred during a four-day warm weather training trip to Barcelona.