West Bromwich Albion legend John Wile has described the actions of Gareth Barry, Jonny Evans, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill in Barcelona as "ridiculously stupid".
The quartet broke curfew on a warm-weather training camp in Spain and have apologised in the wake of allegations suggesting that they had stolen a taxi during a night out.
The incident took place just a day after the club sacked chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman.
In addition, the Baggies remain bottom of the Premier League table, seven points adrift of safety after just one win in 25 league games, and were beaten 2-1 by Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday.
"It goes from bad to worse," former Albion skipper Wile told BBC Sport. "To take advantage of going away, you'd hope everyone would treat it as it should be and lift the pressure a little bit.
"To do what they have done, knowing they were out beyond the curfew – I actually thought the curfew was very generous at 12am – and then to do something ridiculously stupid like take a taxi, beggars belief.
"What surprised me is these aren't kids. They're four adults, four very senior professionals, and that's just not the sort of behaviour you'd expect from someone of their standing. It's a total disrespect for the people who are employing them and for the people who support them every week.
"These guys are revered by thousands of people, they should set an example. We're told the modern game is so professional, they're athletes, they're looked after. This tells you an awful lot that's not happening."
West Brom return to action Saturday when they face fellow Premier League strugglers Huddersfield Town at The Hawthorns.
Giuseppe Labellarte
