Aston Villa boozers Richard Dunne and James Collins are facing fines of £300,000 in a club crackdown. Villa have initiated disciplinary proceedings to punish Dunne and Collins after the defensive duo staged a rowdy alcohol bender on a club trip.
Irish defender Dunne, 31, got drunk before insulting Villa staff and team-mates, including teenager Fabian Delph.
Dunne, who earns £53,000-a-week, was so drunk that the next day he claimed not to have remembered what he said and is now facing a battle to save his Villa career.
The pair yesterday apologised but it will not spare them from severe punishment after infuriating Villa’s top brass.
PFA rules state players can only be fined a maximum of two-weeks’ wages.
But angry Villa officials hope to fine the shamed duo between four-six weeks’ worth of their salary for gross misconduct.
With Villa battling for Premier League survival, the scandal is a huge embarrassment to the club and the latest crisis this term.
Dunne is set to escape the sack but is poised to be offloaded this summer after also clashing with coach Gary McAllister in December.
His latest scrape occurred when boss Gerard Houllier took Villa’s squad on a bonding trip to Champneys spa in Leicestershire for an overnight stay last Wednesday.
But while team-mates took part in paint-balling, defensive partners Dunne and Collins did not participate as they recover from injuries.
And by the end of the evening team meal in the hotel restaurant, the pair were both drunk.
Houllier and assistant McAllister took a trip to Spurs v AC Milan in London that night.
Most players watched Spurs on TV before going to bed but Dunne and Collins stayed up criticising staff and team-mates with Villa just two points above the drop zone.
Midfielder Delph, 19, was among the players singled out for face-to-face abuse from Dunne.
Villa insiders have been worried about Dunne’s lifestyle for some time after his startling loss of form this season.
The defender was named in the PFA team of the year and was Villa’s players’ player of the year last season following a £5million transfer from Man City.
Now Villa intend to hit Dunne and Collins,27, hard in the pocket.
A Villa source said: “We’ve got to do a standard disciplinary process. If you stray off it then everything can be null and void.
“The end result is likely to be a fine between four-six weeks’ worth of salary. Anything worse would be very extreme.”
A pal of Collins’ added: “James knows the situation is very serious.”
Dunne is recovering from a dislocated shoulder while Collins has a calf injury and the pair spent the weekend rehabilitating their injuries.
Houllier may still have to select either if fit to partner Ciaran Clark for Saturday’s crunch clash at home to Wolves at Villa Park.
Leeds-target Dunne was poised for a January exit after his previous bust-up but owner Randy Lerner intervened.
Now a summer move, probably to a Championship club, appears inevitable with Villa likely to subsidise Dunne’s massive salary to get him off the pay-roll.
It is the latest blow to Villa’s season after Houllier clashed with John Carew, Habib Beye, Stephen Warnock and Stephen Ireland.
The Frenchman also upset Villa fans by paying homage to his former club Liverpool at Anfield and fielding a weakened team in the FA Cup exit at Man City.
But, incredibly, Houllier has still hailed the club’s trip to Champneys as a success.
He said: “We wanted to do something different to the training and give the players some enjoyment. It was good.”
