England rugby player Billy Vunipola fined for resisting arrest at Mallorca nightclub, court says
By George Ramsay and Al Goodman, CNN
(CNN) — England international rugby player Billy Vunipola has been fined and handed a suspended four-month prison sentence after resisting arrest at a nightclub in Mallorca, a Spanish court said on Monday.
In a statement, the Balearic Islands Superior Court of Justice said that Vunipola must pay a fine of €240 (around $257) as well as €500 (around $535) in compensation to the injured party after an express trial was held on Sunday.
He was charged with serious disobedience to an authority and resisting arrest, according to the court sentence document seen by CNN.
“The accused admitted that he was in a nightclub in Palma where some police officers came because of a fight,” the court statement said.
“The young man [Vunipola] stated that he did not heed the orders of the police and at one point, as they tried to subdue him, he got over one of them, causing an injury.”
Without naming Vunipola, the Spanish National Police in Mallorca told CNN that a taser was twice fired towards an individual in the early hours of the morning in Palma.
The court press office told CNN that Vunipola won’t serve the four-month sentence because he doesn’t have a prior criminal record in Spain and his sentence is less than the minimum requirement of two years.
Vunipola, who played 75 times for England since his debut in 2013, said that he was involved in “an unfortunate misunderstanding” which “got out of hand” while leaving a nightclub on Sunday.
“Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else,” added Vunipola.
The 31-year-old also confirmed that he had been charged with resisting the law and had paid a €240 fine. He “unreservedly apologise[d]” to those involved.
According to the three-page court sentence document, Vunipola admitted that he had not followed police orders and subsequently caused an injury to an officer’s right wrist and hand, requiring medical attention.
English club side Saracens, with whom Vunipola has spent most of his decorated career, said that it would deal with the incident internally and not make any further comment “until then.”
Vunipola, a key player for England and Saracens over the past decade, last played for his country at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
The number eight was part of the Saracens team which beat Bath 15-12 in a Premiership game on Friday, coming on as a substitute in the second half.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
