Rugby star Gavin Henson has been suspended by his club after drinking alcohol on an early morning flight back to Wales following a match.
Henson, 30, apologised and said he was "truly embarrassed" by his behaviour during the a 7am Flybe flight from Glasgow to Cardiff on Saturday.
The father-of-two admitted going out drinking following the teams's 31-3 defeat to the Glasgow Warriors on Friday night and carrying on as he flew home.
He has been suspended by his current club, the Cardiff Blues, following the incident which is also being investigated by Flybe.
Henson said in a statement: "I would like to publicly apologise for drinking on that flight, which is inappropriate behaviour.
"I admit I had been out drinking in Glasgow on the Friday night following our game against Glasgow Warriors and had stupidly carried on drinking on the flight, for which I am truly embarrassed about.
"I can see that drinking and behaving inappropriately on that flight as a professional sportsman at 7am has caused offence to members of the public, the Flybe airline staff and passengers.
"I know that I have let my team-mates, coaches, management, sponsors and indeed my family down with my actions.
"Drinking on that plane was inexcusable and I know that I must take responsibility for it. I also accept that in the light of this I need to learn from it and ensure this does not happen again."
He added: "I am prepared to co-operate 100% with the Cardiff Blues' wishes and will do everything that I need to do in order to make amends and enable the Blues to focus on our biggest game of the season next weekend.
"I remain fully focused and committed to Cardiff Blues, and I hope they can accept my apology."
Flybe said it was "gathering information" from staff on the plane and at both airports as it investigates but refused to give further details/
Cardiff Blues said Henson was suspended "with immediate effect" after the flight and a meeting will be held on Monday to discuss the matter further.
Henson, who signed for the team last October, came on from the bench in the 65th minute of the match in Glasgow.
It now seems unlikely that he will play next Saturday's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster in Dublin.
Cardiff is the player's fourth club in the space of 12 months after brief spells with Saracens and Toulon in the wake of his departure from the Ospreys.
When he signed for the team, he said: "I've been saying I wanted to play back in Wales and I'm glad of the opportunity that Cardiff Blues have given me. I just want to do everything I can to make them happy and enjoy my rugby."
Henson, who has 33 Welsh caps to his name, toured New Zealand with the British Lions in 2005.
He is well known outside of rugby after a long-term relationship with singer Charlotte Church, during which they had two children together. They split two years ago.
He has also appeared on various reality TV shows, including Strictly Come Dancing and The Bachelor. |
