Three Toronto FC players have been charged with public intoxication after police said they got in a fight outside a Houston nightclub and then argued with officers.
Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva says Miguel Aceval, Nick Soolsma and Luis Silva were jailed after the incident early Monday in the parking lot of the Club Escobar. Toronto FC plays the Houston Dynamo here on Wednesday night.
Silva says the three players were involved in a ''large fight'' outside the club about 2:30 a.m. Officers intervened, Silva says, and the three players ''refused to leave the location and became belligerent'' with police. One player, Silva says, tried to flee the scene on foot, but was caught. No one else was arrested.
Toronto FC has a 1-10-0 record, worst in Major League Soccer. The status of the arrested players for the game was not immediately known, but the team released a statement about the incident on Monday afternoon.
''We are aware of the charges filed against Miguel Aceval, Luis Silva and Nick Soolsma in Houston earlier today,'' the statement said. ''The players are presently with the team and we continue to investigate this matter. As such, the team will not provide any further comment at this time.''
