Jonny Hayes has apologized for the decisions he and his Aberdeen teammates made in the wake of their virus controversy.
The Dons were thrown into turmoil after two positive COVID-19 tests forced their match with St Johnstone this weekend to be postponed. It came after eight players had to self isolate after going to a bar in Aberdeen, which is now back in lockdown.
A bad weekend for Aberdeen. (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)
The players, Sam Cosgrove, Michael Devlin, Scott McKenna, Bruce Anderson, Dylan McGeouch, Craig Bryson, Matty Kennedy and Hayes, publicly named themselves and issued a statement on their actions.
Their decision to go out has been hit with criticism from all angles, with manager Derek McInnes and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon among those to condemn the groups actions.
In the statement, the group said that they made ‘a huge error of judgement’ after going out following a 1-0 defeat to Rangers. Now Hayes himself has personally forwarded his own apology.
Jonny Hayes has stepped forward. (Photo by Scott Baxter/Getty Images)
He says they are well aware of the harm this has caused, praising protocols and those working hard behind the scenes (Red TV): “We just want to say we’re sorry.
“Hands up genuinely, we made a mistake. We didn’t realise the ramifications our actions would have for the country, not just football and Aberdeen. It’s placed a lot of scrutiny.
“We definitely apologize to those behind the scenes working to bring football back as it obviously casts a shadow on their work which is unfair. The protocols that are in place are brilliant.
“We are all striving for the same goal and we didn’t want to cause harm. We just want to apologize to everyone involved, not just to football, but the whole country.”