LONDON – Manchester United defender Chris Smalling apologized Wednesday for an "insensitive decision" to appear as a suicide bomber at a costume party.
A photograph of Smalling in his costume, which his management company said was taken at a private party in his home, was on the front page of Thursday's editions of The Sun.
It shows the English national players with items that appeared to include a mock circuit board and mobile phone around his chest, and cables leading up his body. Also on his body were bottles of Jagermeister and cans of Red Bull, while he also wore an Arab kaffiyeh head dress.
Smalling's management group said the outfit was an elaborate pun on the popular "Jagerbomb," which is a blend of those two drinks.
"Chris and his girlfriend hosted a fancy dress party to celebrate Christmas and their belated birthdays with close friends in the assumed privacy of his own home," Wasserman Media Group said in a statement to The Associated Press. "He dressed in a costume consisting of empty bottles of Jagermeister and cans of Red Bull strapped to his chest in an attempted comedy play on the popular "Jagerbomb drink."
"Although he fully accepts in hindsight it was an ill-thought out and insensitive decision, absolutely no harm was intended whatsoever and he apologizes for any offense caused."
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Sun Front Page: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BdfwdHkIYAAJ13C.jpg
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