Late Hazard incurs champagne penalty

29 May 2012 15:16

Eden Hazard has been fined for missing the team bus taking Belgium's footballers to training and will have to repay his colleagues in champagne, Belgian media reported on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Lille playmaker, who announced on Monday that he would be joining Champions League winners Chelsea, missed the departure after arriving late in the hotel lobby, the Belga news agency said.

He eventually arrived on time at the training ground where the Red Devils are preparing for a Euro 2012 warm-up match against England at Wembley on Saturday, but was told by coach Marc Wilmots that he would have to pay them back in bubbly.

Hazard has been under pressure to reveal where he is going this summer, after his performances for the Ligue 1 side attracted the interest of a number of English Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

But the young star has said that for contractual reasons, he will only talk about his transfer to the London club on their television channel, sparking criticism in the Belgian media.

Wilmots has said that Hazard would not be making any comment about his transfer in the coming days.

According to reports, Chelsea paid between 36 million to 40 million euros (29 million pounds, $45.5 million) to secure his services and he will be paid some 550,000 euros a month.

Belgium failed to qualify for the European championships in Poland and Ukraine. England have been drawn in Group D against France, Sweden and Ukraine.

Source: AFP