Arturo Vidal to donate his Copa America tournament fee to charity to help make amends for drink-driving incident

Arturo Vidal crashed his £230,000 Ferrari while under the influence of alcohol
The 28-year-old and his wife were returning from a casino on afternoon off
The previous day he had scored twice and set up another as Chile drew 3–3 with Mexico
He avoided jail but had his driving license revoked
His agent and eight of his Chile team-mates are deciding which institution will receive his tournament fee

Published:
10:30 GMT, 22 June 2015

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Updated:
17:05 GMT, 22 June 2015

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A repentant Arturo Vidal has agreed to donate his Copa America tournament fee to charity to go some way in rectifying his recent behaviour off the pitch, according to La Tercera.

Vidal crashed his £230,000 red Ferrari while under the influence of alcohol the night after his Copa America host country Chile drew 3–3 with Mexico.

He has since turned out for Chile in the Copa America, playing in the first-half of their 5-0 victory over Bolivia before being rested ahead of the knockout stages.

With tears in his eyes Vidal said he felt embarrassed and asked for forgiveness following the incident

Vidal’s red Ferrari after his crash on a highway south of Santiago on the night of Tuesday June 16

Vidal (centre) and eight Chile internationals including Gary Medel (right) are working on which charity is most worthy of Vidal’s charity donation

‘Vidal-gate’ has rumbled on in spite of Chile progressing from Group A, finishing in first position ahead of Bolivia, who also go through, and Ecuador in third, Mexico in fourth.

Footage of the arrest emerged in which Vidal reportedly shouted and swore at the officer who put him in handcuffs.

‘You f***** up, sir,’ he is heard saying to the policeman before adding, ”Handcuff me, but you will be sh****** on the whole of Chile.’

He avoided a jail sentence but had his driving license revoked and must report monthly to the Chilean consulate in Milan under the terms of his release while investigations go on for 120 days.

The Champions League finalist recorded 1.2g of alcohol per litre of blood when tested by police.

In Chile such a high level of blood alcohol is deemed a ‘state of drunkenness’ rather than just ‘under the influence’.

Chile fans support Vidal following the incident, wearing masks of the player at the Bolivia fixture

However, after admitting to his mistake after the event, most fans appear to have forgiven the Juventus man, who has three goals in the competition but Vidal has decided to make the gesture to help himself and his country move on from the incident, as Chile go in search of their first ever Copa America victory.

If Chile win the tournament the donation will obviously be greater, giving Vidal an extra incentive, and if they do not he will still donate whatever he is given.

His agent Fernando Felicevich and eight of his Chile team-mates including Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Inter Milan’s Gary Medel are currently working on which institution is most appropriate for Vidal’s donation.