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Football

09th Aug 2015

WATCH: Jamie Vardy apologises for incident which shows him repeatedly call Asian man a “jap”

Impossible to defend

Darragh Murphy

A fantastic weekend ends in disgrace as Leicester have been forced to issue a statement about the video showing striker Jamie Vardy using racially insensitive language.

The footage, published by The Sun, apparently shows the recent England call-up repeatedly calling an Asian man a “Jap” while playing poker at a casino.

The article quotes a witness in the casino as having said: “He behaved like an absolute animal, it was appalling. The other guy was a man of East Asian appearance. He looked shocked by what happened. As an England international he should know that eyes are going to be on him when he goes out, but he acted just like a football thug.”

And just hours after the clip emerged, the player has released a statement saying “I wholeheartedly apologise for any offence I’ve caused.

“It was a regrettable error in judgement I take full responsibility for, and I accept my behaviour was not up to what’s expected of me.”

Vardy scored the opener in the Foxes’ spectacular 4-2 victory over Sunderland yesterday but the weekend has certainly been marred by this incident.

A Leicester City spokesman added: “We expect the highest standards from our players on and off the pitch and for them to set an example as role models in our community.

“We have noted Jamie’s apology and will begin a process of investigation into the incident imminently. There will be no further comment until this process has concluded.”

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