England and Saracens rugby player Billy Vunipola was arrested and fined for ‘disobedience’ and resisting arrest following an incident in Mallorca, Spanish police said on Monday.
Vunipola, 31, appeared in court on Sunday following the episode at a bar in the island’s capital Palma.
English Premiership club Saracens said they were aware of an event involving their player and would be dealing with the matter internally.
Vunipola released a short statement on X (see below), saying: ‘I can confirm I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when I was leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday, which got out of hand.’
‘Contrary to media reports,’ he insisted there was ‘no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else’.
He said he had been charged with resisting the law and following an ‘express trial’ was fined €240, which he said he had paid.
‘The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today,’ he said.
‘I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved,’ he added.
The Mallorca-based Ultima Hora newspaper said Vunipola was tasered twice by police in the incident and that it took eight police officers to subdue and handcuff him.
The newspaper’s website carried a video showing a handcuffed Vunipola, as well as other men, being led from a police van into a courtroom.
Vunipola is expected to leave Saracens at the end of this season and has previously been linked with a move to France, although nothing has been confirmed.
He has won 75 England caps, making his Test debut against Argentina in 2013. He is not currently part of the England squad.
Vunipola made an appearance as a second-half substitute for Saracens in their 15-12 victory over Bath on Friday. The club are not scheduled to play again until May 11.
Saracens are second in the English Premiership and are chasing a sixth league title in the last 10 seasons with just two rounds of regular season games left before the play-offs.
A statement on behalf of Billy Vunipola.#YourSaracens💫 pic.twitter.com/JvqiDAeiZh
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) April 29, 2024
Moment topless England rugby star Billy Vunipola laughs as police try to Taser him in a Majorcan bar after 'downing four Amarettos and hitting an officer with his top' https://t.co/DNJEFETPZY pic.twitter.com/Yf3tIxiH6t
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 29, 2024
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