BANGOR City stated they “do not condone” members of their first-team squad holding a training session amid growing coronavirus pandemic concerns.

A number of players were spotted participating in an impromptu gathering in Y Felinheli on Monday morning despite social distancing measures implemented by the government due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The players have been staying in a hotel nearby during the JD Cymru North campaign, which has been suspended by the Football Association of Wales until April 30 at the earliest to prevent the potential spread of the virus.

This was met with outrage on social media, and the club released a statement claiming it was not a sanctioned session and the players involved “followed guidance as recommended”.

A Bangor City FC spokesman, said: “The club would like to place on record that this was not an official training session or similar sanctioned by the club.

“The particular small group of players have all lived together for a number of months in the same residence. You could say that they are all one closely-knit family.

“For the last two weeks, they have had no contact with people outside their group. As far as the club is aware, they have been following the government guidance on social distancing as recommended.

“We do not condone the actions of the individuals involved. The group of players who trained at the public space did so on their own accord, against club guidelines.”

Those involved have been reprimanded Citizens’ president Dominico Serafino to ensure a “similar situation does not arise again”.

Serafino released an emotional statement last week outlining his dismay at the current coronavirus situation in his native Italy and thanked the Bangor community for their messages of support during this difficult time.

“We as a club understand that these are unprecedented times and the advice that has been given to our players a number of days ago was to avoid social gathering where possible,” added the spokesman.

“The current advice by the FAW in relation to training does not preclude training however it confirms that any players contracting coronavirus are not covered for insurance purposes.

“Those that breached the orders from the President, not to train in groups in public spaces, have been spoken to accordingly so that a similar situation does not arise again.”