(Reuters) - Newcastle United's record signing Joelinton faces disciplinary action after he appeared to breach COVID-19 regulations by getting a haircut.
The 24-year-old Brazilian striker put up a picture of himself in a barber shop on Instagram before quickly deleting the post.
Britain, which has Europe's highest COVID-19 death toll, has been under national lockdown since Jan. 5 as it battles a highly contagious new coronavirus variant, with salons and other non-essential businesses shut.
"We are disappointed by the image shared by Joelinton," a club spokesperson was quoted as saying by British media.
"There are clear COVID-19 protocols in place and the club continues to guide and educate its players on their responsibilities.
"The club will be taking appropriate action internally."
Newcastle were the first Premier League side to be hit by a coronavirus outbreak earlier this season, leading to their training ground being shut down for 10 days.
Joelinton, who arrived at Newcastle for 40 million pounds ($54.84 million) from Hoffenheim in July 2019, has failed to justify his price tag, scoring just seven goals in 66 games in all competitions.
Newcastle, who have dropped to 16th in the table following a run of five successive league defeats, travel to Everton later on Saturday.
($1 = 0.7294 pounds)
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
