Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal has made a tearful apology after having his driving licence suspended for crashing his car while allegedly under the influence of alcohol.
The Juventus player, who is in his home country competing at the Copa America, crashed his Ferrari on Tuesday in Santiago after spending his afternoon off with his wife in a casino south of the Chilean capital.
Vidal spent the night in jail and was released on bail but will have to report to the Chilean consulate in Milan every month until the investigation is completed.
Despite the incident, the 28-year-old, who risks losing his licence for two years with Chile having zero tolerance law on drink driving, will remain as part of Jorge Sampaoli's squad at the Copa America.
In a press conference held at Chile's training camp outside Santiago, Vidal said: "It's hard to talk about it because I am very ashamed of what happened.
"The only thing left for me to do is to apologise and take advantage of this opportunity (to remain in the team) that I've been given and counts for something.
"I want to apologise to my wife, to my team-mates, to the technical staff and to the whole country.
"I let everyone down.
"I want to thank everyone that has stood by me at this time."
Chile coach Sampaoli is one of those who has stood by Vidal.
Sampaoli said in a press conference: "He is a very valuable player for us.
"I don't think one should be excluded for making a mistake.
"It's much easier to exclude than to include... we all know what he can bring to this team.
"He wasn't able to control what happened on his afternoon off but that's an internal issue.
"He has always had good behaviour while with the national team."
Vidal is the top scorer in the Copa America with three goals, scoring two in Monday's 3-3 draw against Mexico.
Chile had previously beaten Ecuador 2-0 in their tournament opener and top their group, level on four points with Bolivia.
La Roja play their third and final group A game against Bolivia in Santiago on Friday.
Source: PA
