A FOOTBALL club has slammed vandals who defaced a billboard showing their captain holding a pint after he was involved in an “alcohol-related” car incident.
Derby County captain Richard Keogh was originally holding a trophy in the advertisement before vandals printed a beer in his hands.
Keogh suffered a serious knee injury which will keep him out for the rest of the season due to a car crash last week which has been referred to as an “alcohol-related incident.”
He is expected to be out for 15 months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The billboard picture was shared by Leeds United fan Lewis Jackson on Twitter yesterday morning saying: “Outside Pride Park someone has changed the trophy to a pint.”
The image shows a billboard advertising the Captain’s Club at the Dave Mackay Suite featuring an image of Keogh holding up a trophy.
However, the trophy was replaced with a scale drawing of full pint glass creating the image of Keogh holding up a pint of beer.
A club spokesman today said the billboards were in the process of being changed before the incident occurred.
A Derby County spokesman said: “We cannot condone this behaviour. However, we understand the sensitivity surrounding the incident. The four billboards were in the process of being changed, and have since all been taken down.”
The crash involving a Range Rover and Mercedes happened in Allestree, Derby on September 24.
Five players, including Keogh, Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett were involved in the crash.
Lawrence, 25 and Bennett, 23 were charged with drink driving offences, and are due to appear in court at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on October 15.
Derby County released a statement on their website following the drink driving incident last week stating they “do not condone the actions of a small group of players.”
The statement read: “As a club, we cannot, and do not condone the actions of a small group of players on Tuesday evening.
“The players were out as part of a scheduled team-building dinner with staff and while the majority of them acted responsibly and left at around 8pm and were not involved, a small group, including the team captain Richard Keogh, continued drinking into the night.
“They should have known when to stop and also ignored the opportunity to be driven home using cars laid on by the club, and chose to stay out.
“As a result of an alcohol-related incident, Richard Keogh has sustained a serious knee injury that will prevent him from playing until the end of the season.
“Those involved in Tuesday’s incident know they will pay a heavy price for their actions, but also that we will support them with their rehabilitation back into the squad and team.”
