Three Leicester City players apologized Sunday after a video surfaced that reportedly shows them participating in a racist orgy in Thailand.
The tape was first obtained and reported by the Sunday Mirror.
Leicester City released a statement saying the three soccer players are sorry and would be returning to the UK ahead of the rest of the squad.
“Our players at every level are expected to behave as representatives and ambassadors for our Football Club, both on official Club duty and in their personal lives, so we treat their conduct extremely seriously,” it read.
“Tom Hopper, James Pearson and Adam Smith would like to convey their sincere apologies for their behaviour — to the women involved in the incident, to the Club and its owners, to the Club’s fans and to their families,” the statement said.
Snippets of the tape published by the Sunday Mirror show the three players, naked, in what appears to be a hotel room. One of the players says a woman is “an absolute one out of 10.” A woman is later called a “slit eye.”
The newspaper reported that the footage was shared by at least one of the players with friends back in the United Kingdom.
James Pearson is the son of Nigel Pearson, Leicester City manager. The English soccer club is owned by the Bangkok-based King Power International.
“A formal process of investigation will be undertaken with the players in conjunction with their representatives and, as such, no further comment can be made at this stage,” Leicester City said.