Nachtje brommen
LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland captain Michael Hughes and four
team mates were arrested after an incident on Wednesday in a Prague
nightclub, the BBC reported on Thursday.
It followed Northern Ireland's 3-1 defeat to the Czech Republic in a
World Cup group three qualifying match on Wednesday that ended their already
slim hopes of qualifying for the finals in Japan and South Korea next year.
The BBC said Hughes, strikers David Healy and Glenn Ferguson,
goalkeeping coach Tommy Wright and midfielder Peter Kennedy were being held
in police cells awaiting results on tests taken to determine alcohol levels
in their blood.
A man, believed to be a bouncer, was reportedly given stitches on an eye
wound in hospital.
David Bowen, general secretary of the Irish Football Association, told
the BBC: "The five have been taken to a police station, accompanied by the
Czech FA, an interpreter, a member of our technical staff and
representatives of the British embassy.
"They are in a cell in a police station in Prague awaiting a blood test.
The blood tests are necessary to see if there was alcohol in their bodies.
"A person has gone to hospital and has been released with an injury.
There was a little damage done within the nightclub.
"It is now a matter for the police and the British embassy and we look
forward to their early return to the UK.
"We understand they have not been charged and I would stress that they
are innocent until proven guilty."