Republic of Ireland Under-21 defender Desmond Byrne is the latest player to call attention to the bad behaviour of soccer stars in Britain after he was charged with affray and assault last night following an incident at a London night club.
The young international who plays for Wimbledon was charged along with Chelsea and England Under-21 defender John Terry following an alleged fight at the nightclub.
Both men were arrested yesterday after an incident involving a member of the nightclub's staff and two customers. They were questioned all day by detectives before being released on bail. They are due to appear before magistrates on Wednesday.
Following a recent incident in which West Ham's Australian international, Hayden Fox urinated on the bar of a nightclub, just days after Leeds star Jonathan Woodgate was convicted of affray, the latest incident is sure to do more damage to soccer's image.
Byrne is not the first Irish soccer player to find himself offside in the eyes of the law. Two year's ago, Irish interationals Phil Babb and Mark Kennedy pleaded guilty to charges of causing criminal damage to a policewoman's car, being drunk and disorderly and causing a breach of the peace after an incident in Dublin city centre.
Dublin-born Byrne (20) has played for the Republic of Ireland's under-21 team and Terry (21) is tipped as an England prospect for this year's World Cup.
Emerging from Belgravia police station in south west London, Terry briefly stood in front of photographers with his solicitor. His lawyer said: "My client has no comment to make at this time."
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "John Terry, 21, a professional footballer, of Manor Park, Epsom, and Desmond Byrne, 20, a professional footballer of Clarendon Park, Surrey, both appear on bail at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court at 10 a.m. on January 9th charged with affray and assault, occasioning actual bodily harm."
The spokesman said a 28-year old club receptionist suffered a half-inch cut to his cheek during the incident.
Chelsea's assistant manager Gwyn Williams said: "We'll be making no comment until we have full details, but we've sent a legal team down to ascertain them.
"We have an internal disciplinary code, and should anyone be found to be guilty of that they would be punished."
Wimbledon were unavailable for comment.
For Terry, who is said to have been out with Byrne celebrating the birth of Chelsea player Jody Morris' baby, it is a second brush with controversy in four months.
The 21-year-old was fined two weeks' wages by the club in September when he was one of four Chelsea players who went on a drinking spree on the day after the the September 11th attacks on the US.
Additional reporting PA / AFP