West Brom's Jonny Evans has seemingly been stripped of the captain's armband following an incident earlier in the week that saw him and three teammates steal a taxi in Barcelona, with veteran defender Gareth McAuley instead listed as the skipper for Saturday's FA Cup tilt against Southampton.
Evans was named to the starting lineup as normal by manager Alan Pardew, but his usual captain's "C" was instead listed beside McAuley's name.
Evans had been named captain of West Brom back in July 2017 after the previous skipper Darren Fletcher left for Stoke City, but the taxi incident may have seen the designation change hands permanently, though no explanation was issued alongside the lineup announcement.
Catalan regional police force Mossos d'Esquadra said the quartet took a taxi to a restaurant before returning to their hotel in the car without the driver present. Police were notified and the driver recovered his cab early Thursday morning.
Evans and teammates Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore, and Boaz Myhill issued a joint apology for the incident, stating: "We freely acknowledge and apologise for the break of curfew which we accept represented a breach of the standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion."
Barry was also in the starting lineup, while Myhill was named to the bench.