West Brom play down dressing room incident
West Brom have played down the severity of a dressing-room incident following Saturday's 3-3 draw with Cardiff City.
Reports suggested that some players reacted angrily towards Saido Berahino after the forward lost possession late in the game, enabling Cardiff to net a stoppage-time equaliser in a crucial match at the foot of the Premier League table.
But West Brom released a statement on Tuesday to downplay the incident, insisting that it had been "sensationalised in the media".
"Tensions were understandably running high in the dressing room after Cardiff's late equaliser but the incident has been sensationalised in the media," the statement read.
"What happened is not uncommon in a dressing room and shows that the players care.
"The players involved have apologised. The club has drawn a line under the matter and is now fully focussing on Saturday’s important game at Norwich."
The draw left West Brom 17th in the table, three points clear of Cardiff with seven games left to play.
After the match, coach Pepe Mel laid the blame for the visitors' late leveller firmly at the feet of 20-year-old striker Berahino.
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"A wrong decision was made today, we were 3-2 up with just 30 seconds remaining and that should have been the end of the game," he said.
"Saido's a young player and went in search of a fourth goal instead of taking the ball in the corner. But he will learn from this."