Stoke City's Erik Pieters Apologises After Being Caught Partying Hours Before Crucial League Match

Stoke City left back Erik Pieters has made a formal apology to the club after being caught at a night club barely 24 hours before the Potters’ vital league match against Everton last weekend.

Manager Paul Lambert was not best pleased, where as punishment the former Dutch international was fined two weeks wages - amounting to approximately £70,000 - and was omitted from the starting line-up, which saw ten-man Stoke fall to a 2-1 defeat, courtesy of a Cenk Tosun brace.

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To make matters worse, Pieters even posted a picture on social media documenting his endeavours at the VIP event in Cheshire last Friday, posing for a snap with his wife.

Stoke City assistant manager Stuart Taylor spoke to the press regarding Pieters’ mishap, whilst emphasising that there isn’t a disciplinary issue at the club.

Reported by the Sentinel, Taylor revealed: “Obviously it’s in-house because we can’t speak out about personal situations, but the manager has brought a discipline to the club and it’s very strict and Erik has been spoken to.

"It’s the first time it’s happened since we’ve been here. Has it happened before? I don’t know.

"But certainly there’s no issues with discipline at this club. Since he came in, the manager in one of his first meetings said there has to be discipline and a certain behaviour about this football club and everyone attached to it.

"And that’s not just players, that’s staff as well. It’s been applied every day and it’s never changed, so there’s always been discipline here and every matter has been dealt with.

"He has (apologised). I believe the club are speaking to him at this moment in time. Erik knows he’s in the wrong and he’s apologised for that."

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This incident seems to be the icing on the cake in what has been a terrible season for Stoke. The Potters currently sit 19th place with 27 points, three points away from safety. Following the international break, Stoke will be travelling to the Emirates to face Arsenal on Easter Sunday.