Sean Murray has apologised to Dundalk fans after some players broke Covid-19 travel restrictions to attend a team outing in Belfast.
But the club’s American owners are furious at last Saturday’s events - which resulted in the entire squad requiring Covid tests - and will slap fines on those involved.
Those on the Belfast jaunt - which was not sanctioned by Dundalk FC - have had to foot the bill for Tuesday’s entire round of Covid-19 testing at the club.
A number of Dundalk players were photographed enjoying themselves in Belfast city centre on Saturday, two days before nationwide travel restrictions were lifted in the Republic.
Midfielder Murray lives in Belfast, so he broke no rules as lockdown restrictions were lifted in Northern Ireland on April 30.
But he said yesterday: “We saw it as a chance to bond as a team. In hindsight, it was a mistake and we had to get tested the other day and rightly so.
“The lads thought it was a mistake as well and we feel bad for the fans and everything. Luckily, we all came in negative, and we can focus on tonight’s game.
“It’s not a normal situation for anyone at the moment, so yeah it’s difficult to do those things (team bonding sessions) - but we have to do them in the right way.
“We’ve done loads of team bonding in the past. We saw it as an idea to do the same, but it was a mistake.”
The players involved will also be making a charitable donation and Sporting Director Jim Magilton said it was a “misguided attempt at a team bonding exercise.”
Quizzed on what Dundalk’s American owners made of it all, Magilton said: “Absolutely not happy at all and they have shown that.
“Does this shine a favourable light on the club? Absolutely not. As the main body, they are not happy. Not happy at all.
Magilton was asked when he found out about Saturday’s events.
“Probably like yourselves, it was late Sunday evening I got a few photographs too and then Monday morning, I wasn't sure what had gone on,” he said.
“Again, photographs emerged and then we dealt with it pretty quickly after that.
“We contacted the necessary people and got them tested which was probably the longest day of all our lives and then we got the results that night.”
And pushed on who was to blame for organising the get together, Magilton said: “I think it was a collective.”
As a former Ipswich and QPR boss, Magilton knows the value of a team bonding session but admits the club got this one all wrong.
“They do help especially when you’re going through a dodgy period because, again, with our bunch, a lot of foreign lads are in the team and they haven't had that opportunity to get together,” he said.
“I'm not condoning it for one second, absolutely not and at times it does help but this didn't and only time will tell if they did bond.”
“We'll soon find out on Friday night because they're going to have to bond on Friday night. We'll get little sympathy out of Finn Harps and quite rightly so and we'll have to stand up to it and show our character.”
And asked if the players involved will also be fined, Magilton said: “They will be.”
