Juventus and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal has issued a tearful apology after being found guilty of drink-driving this afternoon.
The 28-year-old crashed his Ferrari into another vehicle upon leaving a casino in Santiago last night, but both he and his wife escaped unharmed from the incident.
Vidal was found to have had 1.2g of alcohol per litre of blood in his system - an amount that can carry a prison sentence of between 12 months and 10 years.
The Bianconeri star avoided jail but had his driving license revoked, and an emotional Vidal, who is part of Chile's Copa America squad, admitted that he is ashamed of himself.
"I went to the casino, drank two drinks - like, two glasses - and had an accident that put at risk my wife's life and that of a lot of people," he told reporters.
"I regret what happened. I want to thank all the people that supported me when I was with the police. I want to apologise to all my team-mates, to the people and to the entire country. It is hard to speak about this. I am really ashamed of what happened. I can only apologise.
"I feel the support of the people and want to show on the pitch that this second I'm given is for something. I failed everybody but I will do my best to be a champion."
Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli earlier stated that he would not drop Vidal from his squad but it remains to be seen what role he will play in the remainder of the home nation's campaign.
Shane Callaghan
