Football
Adriana Garcia 6y

Police shelve case against West Brom players over stolen taxi

The case against four West Bromwich Albion players who were accused of stealing a taxi in Barcelona last week has been temporarily dismissed by a Spanish court because of a lack of evidence.

West Brom's Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill, who were in the city for a winter training camp, admitted breaking curfew last week after a taxi was reported stolen in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The players were taken to a police station for questioning but were not arrested after being accused by the taxi driver of stealing his vehicle, Catalonia's regional police confirmed to ESPN FC.

A local judge has provisionally dismissed the case but it could be reopened if new evidence emerges.

"The court of instruction number two in Barcelona dealt with the case but the magistrate decided to provisionally archive the case because there wasn't sufficient evidence to press charges against the players," the court communications officer told ESPN FC.

"For the time being the case has been shelved although if new information comes to light, it will be reopened."

The players involved issued a public apology for their involvement in an incident and breaking a midnight curfew. They also said they would cooperate fully with the club's own inquiry into the incident, which will be handled internally. Evans was stripped of his captain's armband for last weekend's game.

According to the police report, the four players wanted to go out in Barcelona's Olympic port but found everything closed, and so got in a taxi to go to a 24-hour fast-food restaurant. They allegedly took the taxi and drove back to their hotel without the driver.

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