Watford players Andre Gray, Nathaniel Chalobah and Domingos Quina have apologised to their teammates and manager Nigel Pearson after they broke lockdown rules to attend a birthday party together.
Gray posted footage on Instagram of friends playing football in his garden in a property which he shared with his fiancee, Little Mix singer Leigh Anne-Pinnock.
The video, which was later deleted, clearly showed a larger group of people than the maximum of six recommended by the Government.
Gray, Chalobah and Quina were involved in the game, and as a result they were dropped from the squad which lost 3-1 to Southampton on Sunday 'to ensure the health and safety of all players, staff and officials.'
According to the Daily Mail, the three said sorry during training on Monday, and could be recalled to the team for the Hornets' next match against Chelsea on Saturday provided they pass their next coronavirus tests.
They are still likely to face disciplinary action from the club, however, and will most probably each receive a large fine.
When asked about their situation following the defeat to the Saints, a clearly unhappy manager Nigel Pearson said: "Until I know all the facts I'm not going to make any further comment on the situation."
Watford will need all the help they can get if they are to avoid relegation, and they currently sit in 16th place but just a point off the drop having played one game more than West Ham and Bournemouth.
Pearson added: "We are fighting for our lives because we haven't found the performance levels we need.
"We were second best for too long. You can't concede goals like we have, give gifts to the opponents. It makes the job harder.
"We have to go back to showing a cohesion as a group of people. At the moment it is frustrating, because we are not achieving the performances we know we are capable of.
"We have games left in which it is in our own hands to make sure we secure our future in the Premier League. No-one is going to do it for us."
