Racing Club Fantana have been struck with a hammer blow to the senses today, as reports in the media have suggested RCF Captain Rikki Prati was staggering out of a local night club just hours before their last friendly of the pre-season on Sunday morning.

Photographs have also emerged of the star man, in a "comatose like state", and reports suggest that Prati was drinking since 2pm on Saturday. One source said "He was unbelievable. I saw him, and immediately recognised him. I thought he was buying drinks for about 5 or 6 people, but it turned out that all of the drinks were for himself!"

Prati was seen staggering out of The Shannon Centre, in Seven Kings with a bottle of Raspberry Sambuca shouting "Ooooh ooooh"

A spokesperson for The Nite Club confirmed that Prati was in attendance, but would not say about his condition. "People come here to have a good time. And believe me they do. We're a top drawer establishment, and are used to having people big footballers in here. They have a good time, but I can't go into specifics".

The publishing of the story had immediate reverberations throughout the team. After lengthy talks between stand-in manager Chris Maskell and vacationing manager Bradley Micallef, Prati was immediately stripped of his captaincy of Racing Club.

Micallef is a strict disciplinarian and has stated on many occasions that he will not tolerate anyone stepping out of line, and Prati has found this out first hand.

The day got worse for Prati, as he only managed to last 55 minutes of the match against Woodford Hammers complaining of a spinning head after a fairly innocuous challenge. During the match, to this journalist, he looked like a man with plenty of raspberry sambuca in his system.

The fiery Italian Prati was questioned after the game about his actions just hours before, but refused to comment. Stand in manager Chris Maskell, who is never lost for words, said he would look into the incident. "I'm aware of the reports about his behaviour, and yes he was playing like a man blind drunk of fruit flavoured Sambuca. We'll just have to wait until all the facts are gathered. But an internal enquiry is beginning as we speak, and we do take these accusations very seriously".

Lets just hope for Rikki Prati's sake, that these photos can be explained, and that the whole saga is just a big misunderstanding. If not, and he is found guilty, knowing the manager as I do, this reporter fears we may have seen the last of the shrewd Roman in the green of Racing Club.

Report by Oliver Codpiece