Premier League fans did a double-take on Tuesday when it looked as though the fines list for Aston Villa had been leaked. In the space of a hectic few hours, a photograph showing a Villa-branded piece of paper with various offences and eye-watering penalties on it started doing the rounds on social media.
Amongst the details on the mysterious leak was everything from being fined £200 per minute that you’re late for the coach and a £50 per day punishment for forgetting cakes for birthdays, naturally.
However, while it might have looked at first as though it was a peek behind the curtain of Steven Gerrard’s regime at Villa Park, it soon became apparent that all wasn’t as it seemed.
That’s because the Birmingham Mail clarified that the leak showed the fine system that was in place during the reign of Dean Smith with a spokesperson from the club addressing the speculation.