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What's the story?
A video published last night has been making the rounds on social media as it purportedly shows Jordan Pickford involved in a brawl outside of a pub in Sunderland.
In case you didn't know...
Jordan Pickford is an England international goalkeeper who currently plays for Everton in the Premier League. He was signed from Sunderland for around £25m back in June 2017, making him the most expensive British keeper in history.
He rose to mainstream attention during the summer of 2018 when he featured for England in the FIFA World Cup. Pickford had a string of stunning performances and was credited for saving England from being eliminated by Colombia during a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals.
Ultimately, England were to be knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals by Croatia, but Pickford was hailed a hero on his return to the country.
The heart of the matter
As you can see from the video, things get off to an unpleasant start as insults are hurled at Pickford whilst he takes a selfie with a fan. Clearly, things escalated from there as in the next video segment Pickford is amongst a sea of people in a scuffle. It looks as if a bouncer's arm is wrapped around his neck to restrain him, but Pickford then breaks loose and appears to take a swipe at him.
The 24-year-old is then whisked away by his friends in an attempt to save him from further embarrassment.
What next?
According to the BBC, both Everton and the police are investigating the incident.
A spokesperson from Northumbria Police had this to say:
"At 12:19 am (Monday), police received a report of a disturbance involving a large group of individuals on Tunstall Road, Sunderland.
"Enquiries are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and locate those involved.
"Nobody is believed to have been seriously injured and no arrests have been made."
