Bardsley pictured on casino floor in pile of £50 notes... leaving strict Sunderland boss Di Canio furious

Phil Bardsley has been pictured lying flat on the floor of a casino in a pile of £50 notes.

The Sunderland and Scotland full back right back has denied being drunk.

Bardsley, 27, enraged Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio, who has axed him from the squad for the clash with Tottenham.

Flat out: Phil Bardsley lies with £50 notes spread over his face and body and on the floor around him

Cash bed: Bardsley lies down on the casino floor amid a spread of £50 notes, while Matthew Kilgallon watches on (white shirt)

The former Manchester United player is part of the squad at the Stadium of Light which has been given strict rules on behaviour by the Italian.

Di Canio's side travel down to White Hart Lane today to face Spurs in a game that, along with Newcastle v Arsenal, will decide which of the two north London sides qualifies for the Champions League.



In midweek Bardsley was at the casino with team-mate Matthew Kilgallon - who was also left out of the squad for today's game - until the early hours, and the players turned up for training the next day.

Di Canio has strong views on discipline and behaviour and has imposed many rules since joining Sunderland.



He fined seven players on the same day last week for breaking club rules, including forgetting to attend autographing sessions.



After blasting the players' fitness levels when he took over from Martin O'Neill, Di Canio banned drinking at the club.

If players are caught having been out drinking the fiery Italian will fine them and they could be dropped from the first team.



Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Di Canio said: 'If I discovered one of my players had drunk not on a Friday but even a Monday night, I would fine him.



'If you are talking about a glass of red wine during dinner with family on a Monday night or Tuesday night, that’s good because we know red wine is good for the heart.



'But forget about alcohol on Thursday or Friday. I don’t think this team have this habit – I hope not!

This is my regime. Obviously, with little things, you can close one eye because good footballers are important.'



At the table: Bardsley sits at the roulette table with a pile of chips Angry: Paolo Di Canio has fined several Sunderland players already and was enraged by this incident

When Di Canio was in charge at Swindon he dropped players from his first team who went out until the early hours celebrating a win when his side were pushing for promotion from League Two.



'They went out after the game to celebrate until two o’clock in the morning,' he added.



'They drank a bit and the next game they didn’t play because the next game was in two days’ time.



'How can you go into a game blurry, especially at this level, if you drink Friday night? But I can’t imagine that my players are going to have an alcohol session. I hope not because it is not acceptable in general.



'We have a big privilege and they are obliged and have a responsibility to be fit as much as they can.'

Bardsley's crass display of wealth is the third incident of lewd behaviour from footballers this week.

This is in addition to the incident at Brighton which saw somebody defecate in the Crystal Palace dressing room and a Stoke player leaving a pig's head in Kenwyne Jones's locker.



Football's other cash clowns

Liam Ridgewell was pictured 'wiping his bottom' with £20 notes for a joke which was to 'wind up a friend who had lost a bet'