VIDAL IN CRASH
I let everyone down,’ Chile star
SANTIAGO – Chilean football star Arturo Vidal made a tearful apology yesterday after he was stripped of his driver’s licence for crashing his Ferrari while driving drunk, but dodged suspension from the national team.
After spending the night in jail, the Juventus midfielder appeared in court in Santiago, where the judge freed him from custody but suspended his license and ordered him to report to the Chilean consulate in Milan every month under the terms of his release.
Vidal then rushed off to Chile ’ s training camp for the Copa America, where he tearfully took responsibility for the accident and apologised to his team.
“I let everyone down, ” the 28-year-old said.
“I want to tell you what happened. Yesterday I went to the casino. I had two drinks,” he told journalists, struggling to get his words out.
“I put my wife ’ s life at risk, a lot of people ’ s lives at risk. I ’ m very sorry. ” Vidal, who is home from Italy playing with the national team in the South American championships — where he is currently the leading scorer — collided with another car late on Tuesday as he and his wife, Maria Teresa Matus, drove home from a night out following a day off from training.
The couple were briefly taken to hospital after the accident on the outskirts of the Chilean capital, which left Vidal ’ s red Ferrari badly mangled on the driver ’ s side. Vidal was then carted off to jail in the back of a police car.
Officials have not disclosed how much alcohol he had in his blood.
The tone of Vidal ’ s apology was markedly different from a YouTube video he posted proclaiming his innocence after the accident.
“It was not my fault,” he said in the video, thanking his supporters and giving a thumbs up.
A video of the accident scene posted online by Santiago radio station Bio Bio showed Vidal combatively exchanging words with police officers. “Go ahead and handcuff me, but you ’ re going to sh!t all over Chile,” he said.
After a night of hand-wringing for Chilean fans, coach Jorge Sampaoli said he would not suspend the star.
“He ’ s just arrived and we ’ re going to see how he is and try to make him understand that he maybe made a mis- take, ” he said.
Vidal does not face jail time because only he and his wife were hurt in the accident.
Under Chile ’ s zero tolerance law on drunk driving, Vidal could have his licence suspended for
two years. –